Hello from Sunny Hamunaptra!
by Nacey
Summary: Evelyn entertains her old school chum Constance Adams in Hamunaptra with the company of Jonathan, Ardeth and little Alex. All hell breaks loose when Evelyn encounters the lost city of Amarna and things don't go quite to plan...
1. The Way to Hamunaptra

"Hello from Sunny Hamunaptra!"  
By Nancy Lorenz.

Cast:   
Rick O'Connell  
Eveyln O'Connell  
Alex O'Connell  
Jonathan Carnahan  
Ardeth Bay  
Constance Adams

Rating: PG 13 / K+

Spoilers: The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.

Disclaimer: All of this belongs to Universal Pictures - except Constance.

Author's Note: Please understand that the story of King Akhenaten is ever evolving, and subject to much different interpretation of the evidence and artifacts found at Tel-el-Amarna. The city is simply called Amarna in the prologue below because the real name of the place, 'Akhetaten', is far too close to the name of the Mummy we're dealing with in this case. I've taken liberty with the story of Akhenaten so that it fits within this story. Understand that it's richer, deeper, far more tragic and more interesting than I've shown you here. It's one of my favourite stories of Ancient Egypt – and trust me, I have a lot of stories that I've read and liked. Before you ask – yes, there is a sequel. There is also a webpage.

Story Website: The Mummy Chronicles

* * *

THEBES

_There was once a great Pharaoh in the Lands of Egypt that, though fair and brilliant, was hatedand shunned by scribes and historians of his time and would forever be known as the Heretic King._

_His name was Akhenaten and he looked to the sun for worship, called it Aten and God,_ _and with his beautiful wife Nefertiti, set out to build a new holy city - the City of Amarna._

_For years the followers of Akhenaten and his god Aten lived in a paradise__within the walls of Amarna, but there were those in Thebes that hated the One-God_ _religion the Pharaoh had created and wanted him destroyed._

_With the aid of their most powerful priests and prophets the angry nobility of Thebes_ _cursed the land of Amarna, begging the great Osiris to deny the city nourishment of_ _the earth and water for their crops. Hateful of the new religion that stole him of his_ _followers, Osiris obliged, and Amarna was plunged into famine._

_To aid Osiris, Anubis swept over the city, burying the inhabitants with mountains of sand in a dust-storm like none that had ever been before. His jackal-headed warriors beheaded those not already dead, and no one within the city were ever mummified._ _Instead they were preserved in the dry salty desert sands, their souls never sent to the Afterlife. The next King left a seal at the steps of Amarna by order of Anubis warning that anyone who entered the City of Heretics,_ _either reading the words of the Cult of Aten or showing reverence to the false God would suffer_ _a most painful and slow death, worse than the cruelest man could imagine._

_Somewhere in the deserts of Egypt the city of el-Amarna lies buried, its walls to the brim_ _with words of worship to the god Aten, lying in wait till it is entered again._

_

* * *

_

Time: 8am  
Date: November 5th, 1934

_Dear Diary. _

_Have set off for Hamunaptra, with the good company (?) of a Mr. Jonathan Carnahan, older brother to my high school bosom buddy Evelyn. The train ride is long and arduous, but one could not afford the ridiculous price of an aeroplane ride. _

_Mr. Carnahan's attentions are quite unsettling. He keeps inviting me out for drinks in the dining car, and I've repeatedly told him that I am a modern woman, happily single. He says there is no harm in a little drink. I told him to prove it. _

_Five flutes of champagne later, he proved that indeed, alcohol can do quite a bit of damage. _

_I am looking quite forward to seeing dear Evelyn again. She's written me many letters regarding her handsome dashing husband Rick. I'll be intrigued to see whether the man fulfills her descriptions. I'm most vexed about meeting young Alex. I'm not very good with children at all, and it seems that he spends a lot of time with his parents. _

_Once at Cairo, Jonathan and I will be taken to Hamunaptra, guided by some strange dirty sandy holy sorts called 'Medjai'. Jonathan assures me we will be quite safe with them. He also assured me that he could drink a whole bottle of champagne with no ill effect, so his word is not exactly trustworthy in my opinion. _

_God forbid one of those hairy desert sorts get any strange ideas! I've read they're very attracted to Western women. _

_Well, we are women of culture! I don't find this at all surprising. I just pray that I get to Hamunaptra in one piece. _

_Constance._

_

* * *

_

Jonathan leant over, eyeing the edge of the book. At this, Constance Adams pulled it away, glaring at Jonathan with large blue eyes. Although she had met him a few times when they were younger, she didn't feel sufficiently close enough to him to address him by his first name.

"Mr. Carnahan," she said with a thin, patient tone, "It is quite rude to try and read a lady's private journal whilst she's writing in it."

Jonathan blinked. "What, you want me to wait till you're finished, then?"

Constance sighed, "Very funny."

The mischievous looking man smiled and Constance couldn't help but find it a little infectious. Encouragement enough for Jonathan, the man nudged her.

"So! Regaling your lovely book about my good looks then?"

"Uh..." Constance gave a blink of great distaste, "Not quite."

Jonathan frowned. "What's it gonna take to get you to lighten up a bit then, eh?"

Constance sighed once more. "I only wish to be on my way to Hamunaptra. It is not my intent to drink to excess or life a live of indulgence on my way there."

With lax jaw, Jonathan blinked. "But - that's the best bit about travelling! The 'getting drunk and living it up' bit!"

The look of distaste returned to Constance's face, and she primped her neat blonde hair as she looked away from the man. "Really."

"Sure!" nodded Jonathan, "But if that's not your thing, that's okay. Just tell me - you know - what is your thing?"

"I doubt that you would find it very intriguing."

"Try me."

Constance met the twinkling blue eyes of the man next to her before turning to him, pressing her thin sculpted lips together.

"Have you ever heard of Spiritism?"

"What," Jonathan waved a hand, "Séances with cotton wool stuffed in crazy people's mouths and all that gaff?" Constance gasped. Salvaging the situation, Jonathan nodded with a slapped-on smile. "Oh yeah, totally love the lot of it."

Constance shook her head. "Spiritists are not crazy people, and it's not cotton wool in their mouths!"

"No?"

"No!" she said.

"Oh. What is it then?"

Constance straightened. "Ectoplasm."

Jonathan's eyes watered a touch, and reaching for yet another glass of white bubbly wine, the man sniggered, swallowing down vocal chuckles.

"I'm glad you find this so very amusing," said Constance.

"Oh no, oh no," Jonathan giggled, waving a hand, "I believe you, love!"

The young woman sighed, looking out the window of the train cabin they both sat in.

"So how does a pretty thing like you get into Spiritism, of all things?"

Batting her eyelids, Constance shrugged. "As I said, I'm a modern woman, Mr. Carnahan."

"Please," moaned Jonathan drunkenly, "Just call me Jonny!"

Closing her journal, Constance ticked a brow. "You can call me Miss Adams."

* * *

Time: 11.5 am  
Date: November 12th, 1934

_Dear Diary, _

_I am only a few minutes from Cairo station. The boat trip to Egypt was thankfully uneventful, but devilishly hot. I quite forgot that the Mediterranean could be so muggy and searing! I've written it down now, so I mustn't forget again. _

_I haven't written because this trip has been so terribly DULL! I meditated in my cabin when I could, but it was most difficult with that irritating measure of a man around me. Jonathan is sweet, but not conducive to contacting the wise ones from beyond! I settled with having dinners with him, and this appeased his yearning for female company. _

_Sadly, these are now my last moments on a train, a vestige of civilization, as I'm lead out into the wild unknown of Egypt's deserts towards Hamunaptra. _

_May God and his heavenly spirits watch over me in my following days!_

_

* * *

_

A large number of suitcases were piled next to her on the platform by uncertain looking station hands. She was resplendent in a light lilac dress suit, the skirt to mid-calf, the jacket form-fitting with padded shoulders and dark purple strip trim, the vision of a Western woman. Her blonde hair and self-assured gait were the perfect touch in making her completely peculiar to the scene.

Lifting her nose, she looked about her, Jonathan staggering to her side, overloaded with suitcases.

"Geez, Miss Adams," he panted, "How many of these cases do you need?"

"All of them," Constance said, pointing to one of the cases in Jonathan's arms, "You be careful with that! It has my crystal ball inside of it."

Constance pulled an unfortunate looking man in a porter's uniform aside, pointing to her suitcases. "You will help me with these."

Nodding frantically, the man nodded. "Yes, ma'am!" He grabbed the handles, lugging them towards the train.

Constance grabbed him by the sleeve, almost yelping. "Young MAN!" she gasped, "What is it you think you are doing!"

"Loading de train," the man replied.

She shook her head. "I wanted you to help me take my bags to my next transport."

Jonathan ran his tongue around his lips, wincing with uncertainty.

"You say that's for your next transport?"

"Yes."

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Not for a hotel?"

"No."

Jonathan rocked from tip-toe to heel. "Aaah..."

Constance blinked, "Ah?"

Jonathan nodded. "Ah." There was a moment of silence, and Jonathan continued with that mischievous smile. "I have a funny little story to tell about that..."

Constance cocked a neat light brown eyebrow.

Pointing behind her, Jonathan swayed a little, and the young woman turned. Dark brown eyes… That was the first thing that registered as she looked behind her, and an engulfing gust of air musky with the scent of camel.

"Ardeth, old Mate!" Jonathan smiled, slapping the dark, heavily robed man in front of them on the shoulder. "How you been then, eh?"

"Thankfully, the same," the man called 'Ardeth' said, his head wrapped in dark fabrics, long dark curls tumbling out from underneath the turban. His wide shoulders were accentuated by the ornate silver trim that decorated his robes, and he was positively bird-like in his posture. Constance shrunk as she eyed the hieroglyphic tattoos on his cheeks.

"Ardeth Bay, this is Miss Constance Adams," Jonathan said, pushing Constance forward by the small of her back.

"Miss Adams," said Ardeth in his low, even tone, sweeping in a bow and holding her hand graciously. "A pleasure. Now if you'll come with me..."

His accent struck her. Well spoken, yet exotic. Constance took a huffing breath, now grabbing Ardeth roughly by the sleeve. "Now listen here, my good man, I have my things here ready to be transported. Now, if you'd kindly get your men to..."

Constance drifted off as the wild looking holy man turned slowly, his look firm, deadly, but gentle all at once.

"There isn't the room," he said, "You may choose two of your bags. Get the porter to store the rest at the station."

Letting her jaw drop, Constance gasped.

"Two!" she cried, "Two! Now, now, now!" She tugged at Ardeth's sleeve again. "This just won't do! I don't know how your women live, Mr. Dethbay or whatever, but we modern women need our MODERN comforts!"

"You are in Egypt, Miss Adams," said Ardeth. "There will be time for luxuries when you return home to England."

Constance huffed, looking to her things. "Honestly! There must be some room in your car!"

At this, Ardeth just smiled, teeth surprisingly clean compared to the rest of the natives. "Car?"

"Well, yes," said Constance. "Car. Thing with four wheels. Goes vroom!" She mimed the motion of the vehicle requested with a flat hand soaring past her chest.

Ardeth's smile turned to a grin. "This way, Miss Adams."

The desert man turned in a swooping movement, his robes fluttering behind him in his brisk gait. Constance had time to grab the smallest of her bags before stuffing some money into a porter's hands for storage.

"Is it an aeroplane then?" stuttered Constance, "I- I would have liked to have been told about these travel arrangements prior to..."

Her words dragged to nothing as Ardeth stopped in front of the crowded dusty station, and the band of animals tied up to the railing in front of it. Constance paled.

"C-" She choked. "CAMELS!"

Ardeth nodded silently, striding over to the beasts, Jonathan following him with his own two bags.

"Come on then, Connie," smiled Jonathan, "They're not that bad. Just don't go near the spitting end!"

Ardeth smiled at that before stopping at Constance's ride. "Her name is Hathor," he said, "Named for the Goddess of Destruction. She was the most docile and cooperative camel I could find."

If it were possible, Constance grew more pale. "You don't say."

Jonathan shook his head, "Ardeth, there isn't any such thing as a cooperative camel."

Ardeth cocked a brow. "I said of what I could find... I did not say it was a reasonable beast." Immediately, Ardeth seized the woman by her slim waist, hoisting her up onto the animal. Constance gave a choked shriek, grasping at his hands and glaring at him.

"What in the name of God's green earth do you think you're-"

"Careful, Miss Adams," he said, interrupting her cries, "Legs up."

Looking around her, understanding his purpose in lifting her, she calmed some. She then scrabbled at the seat on the back of the camel, legs flailing, whimpering.

"I can't, Mr. Dethbay!" she cried, "This skirt!"

Sighing, Ardeth sat her sideways on the camel. Her right knee was supposed to wrap around the sizable fabric-wrapped mound at the front of the camel's mounting, to give her stability. Instead her legs jutted off the edge of the camel, parallel, like that of a porcelain doll. "You will slip more often this way."

She swallowed, straightening her hair, and the small veiled hat on top of it. "Really." Ardeth nodded. "Well... I'll just have to manage."

Ardeth sighed. "You don't have any trousers or loose dresses amongst your things?"

Constance straightened. "You ask me about my belongings?"

The desert man nearly rolled his eyes. "It would make things much easier on you."

Tilting her nose up in the air, Constance looked to the horizon. "I have some in my suitcase."

Nodding, Ardeth mounted his own camel with ease, patting the animal. "I suggest when we make camp, you put them on."

* * *

Time: 7 pm  
Date: November 12th, 1934  
Location: Somewhere in the bloody wilderness!

_Today, I rode my first camel. What an experience. Kept slipping off the blasted thing because I couldn't mount the thing properly. That sandy letch Mr. Dethbay kept laughing at me. Jonathan did too, but he stopped once I glared death at him. _

_The desert is absolutely abysmal! I wish I never came here! Lord knows what dear Evy sees in this Godforsaken place! _

_We have no lamps, no modern conveniences! If I want to go relieve myself, I must traipse out into the dunes and risk being bitten by SCORPIONS! The very idea! _

_It was during one of these trips that I put on my pants, and some more sturdy boots. I look like a man! Not that a woman hasn't every right to don practical clothing, but I feel ever so unattractive in it. _

_Either way, Ardeth has turned suddenly stoic, and Jonathan more amourous. He says I look smashing in the 'boyish' clothing. I told him if he continued to look at me in such a way I would strike him. _

_I will be greatly impressed with my survival skills if I leave this awful country alive! _


	2. Into the Desert

**Chapter Two**

Once the sun had come up, the air turned to fire. Constance felt her lips dry, catching against each other, the skin cracking and flaking. Her lipstick was only momentary relief, for the sand from each step of the camels often flicked up in her face and stuck against the make-shift balm on her lips. She was sure her pale features were flushed a deep red, and her throat caught as she tried to swallow. Water. She needed some, now.

Leaning aside her camel, Constance lifted her arm. "Er... excuse me? Mr. Dethbay?"

Ardeth looked over his shoulder unflinchingly. "My name is Ardeth. Ardeth, Bay."

"Yes," Constance smiled winningly, though looking red and pale-lipped, it lost its effect. In actual fact, she looked downright exhausted. This sight seemed to move Ardeth somewhat and he slowed his camel, waiting for Constance to catch up. "Mr. Bay I-" She drifted to silence as Ardeth pulled out a water skin, holding it up to her. A soft smile touched her face. "Thank you."

The wet splash of water on her lips was cool relief. She gulped it back, rolling it around her mouth before sending it down, eyes closed in Elysium. At least until the water skin was yanked from her hands. Eyes flashing open, she glared at Ardeth.

"We need to conserve water," he said, putting the stopper in the skin.

Wavering a little, Constance whimpered.

"Mr. Bay," she said, "I'm thirsty."

Placing a hand on her upper arm, Ardeth nodded. "Those that are unaccustomed usually are. Worry not, Miss Adams. We will be at Hamunaptra the day after tomorrow."

"Oh," Constance gave a faint nod. "How wonderful."

Ardeth gave a polite smile, jostling his camel into action with a flimsy long fray-ended stick, Constance's plodding after it. She winced with uncertainty at it, still frightened of the new mode of transportation.

"How did you meet Mrs. O'Connell?" asked Ardeth, his tone that of business rather than pleasure.

"Uh..." Constance shifted in her saddle, "We went to school together. Best of friends."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," interrupted Jonathan, nodding emphatically, "Never heard the end of their antics when Evy came home from boarding school. Poor Aunt Lila would dress her down till the rafters shook. Used to drive me up the bloody wall."

Constance blushed. "Well, we were girls then. We're women now."

Ardeth stared at the woman a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Evidently."

The extreme weather of the desert wore poor Constance thin. The biting cold, the burning hot, it had her ragged and dry. In the camp that morning she brushed at her hair fitfully, pouting into the small hand mirror she had mind to bring with her.

"Honestly," she tutted, "I look a fright!"

"No, ya look natural," Jonathan smiled good naturedly.

"Natural!" Constance sighed.

From across the burnt charcoal pit of where their fire had been, Ardeth sat cross legged, a small pouch against his chest to which he offered small portions of chewed food.

"External appearance is a fleeting mask," he said. "What is within stays with you throughout time."

"Oh yes," Constance grumbled, pulling at her hair, "But a nice external appearance helps you along more than you think, Ardeth, old boy."

Jonathan winced through the sunlight at Ardeth. "Say... what are you doing there?"

Looking up, Ardeth pulled down the edge of the pouch. A fluffy unkempt head popped out, large dark brown eyes peering from behind a gaping, panting beak. At the sight of what was in there, Constance squeaked.

"Oh!" She crawled on her knees around the fire, forgetting herself. "Is that a baby bird!"

Inside the pouch was indeed a small bird. Its feathers - down and flying feathers - showed its juvenile age, old enough to be away from its mother, but young enough to need constant care. Its hooked beak gave away its life purpose.

"It is," Ardeth said. "A young falcon, in fact. I must rear a new messenger since my last was killed."

Constance's face grew soft. "Killed?" Ardeth nodded. "How awful."

"Well you know," Jonathan sighed and scratched behind his ear, "Being a Medjai - it's not easy."

"Oh."

The desert man gazed at the little feathery animal wrapped close to his body, caressing its scalp carefully.

"If you don't mind me asking," she said, "Why have one so young?"

Those dark brown eyes met hers. "The bird must be bonded to its master, so that it knows who always to return."

She nodded, gazing at the bird too. She rolled her lips, shifting nervously. "May I pat it too?"

Ardeth eyed her a long moment, then seemed to relax. "Yes. But be gentle."

Smiling sweetly, Constance reached for the downy scalp of the juvenile bird, the large brown eyes of the animal eyeing her cautiously.

"It's a beautiful animal," she said, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Male," Ardeth said. "His name is Ra-Horakhty. It means 'Morning Sun'."

Constance's eyes met that of the bird's. "How beautiful." After a moment, the bird seemed to relax, narrowing its eyes at the attention. Her heart warmed at the little animal, and she leant casually on her propped arm, tilting her head idly. As she took a long breath in, she noticed a most beguiling scent. It was the sweetness of jasmine and fine musk, set off by the stiff curl of sandalwood. She hadn't noticed it at first for the smell of camels and horses, but now, leaning like this, close to... She glanced up, blushing. She was only a breath away from Ardeth as she met his eyes.

"Uh..." She scooted back, dusting sand from her hands, "It's a lovely bird, Mr. Bay."

"I think so," Ardeth said, smiling shortly before pulling the fabric of the pouch up over the bird's head once more.

Crawling back to her place, Constance pulled out her journal and pen from her bag, her throat suddenly tight.

* * *

Time: 7 pm  
Date: November 13th, 1934

_Dear Diary, _

_Had a most interesting day today, despite the heat. That desert rat Mr. Bay took the water away from me before I could have my fill, however. I was most perturbed! I don't believe he understood how very thirsty I was! I thought I was going to die from dehydration! _

_I haven't had a chance to meditate today. My energies are most dirty with anxiety and tiredness. I hope to have a long period of meditation when I arrive at Hamunaptra. Perhaps then I can get the heaviness of my mortal activities out of my aura. _

_I have thought upon it further, and I think perhaps I should try a séance at one of the temples in Hamunaptra. It would be most exciting to channel the spirit of Nefertiti or Tutankhamen! _

_Mr. Bay proved not to be a total barbarian as I assumed his kind would be. He cares for a baby bird called Ra... Ra... I'll find out spelling later and take note. He has little tolerance for my modern ways, however. I wonder if he'd ever survive in London for example. Such a city could possibly make a meal of him! _

_Jonathan is becoming a little more tolerable now that we're in company. He can sometimes team up with Mr. Bay to make a joke of something I've done (like dangling from the saddle of my camel by an ankle because the stupid bloody thing sneezed). _

_Really. Getting a face full of sand is not that funny._

_

* * *

_

Cold. It was damnable. It bit into her toes and her fingers, despite the layers of clothing she wore. The sand underneath her, once warm from the day, was now cool and unforgiving. The fire in front of her crackled and glowed, and she huddled close to it, jaw shuddering in a chatter. Adjacent from her was a pile of pelts and blankets that was Jonathan, a light snoring lifting from it. And across the fire Ardeth Bay attended to his friend the juvenile falcon, seemingly quite comfortable in his robes and fabric headpiece.

Clutching her blanket close to her, Constance scowled at the Medjai. "Aren't you cold?"

Dark brown eyes met hers. "My clothing is designed for this climate, Miss Adams. In the heat it keeps one cool, and in the cold it keeps one warm."

She grumbled, teeth chattering audibly. "I can't believe the desert could get this cold!"

"It does," Ardeth said. "You should feel lucky Miss Adams. It is a relatively mild night."

"It's terrible!" Constance said, "I could barely concentrate enough to write!"

"You should sleep," said Ardeth, "Let the cold hours pass you by."

The woman rolled her eyes. "I would Mr. Bay but I'm freezing my frigging arse off!" Ardeth blinked at her outburst of profanity. "I'm sorry," she groaned. "I'm sorry! I just can barely move for aching in the cold!"

Ardeth rose from his place, taking up his blanket and treading over to Constance. She eyed him sharply, leaning back as he approached her.

"What do you think you are doing?"

He lifted the blanket, and a brow. "Keeping you warm, Miss Adams."

Constance yelped. "What! Now you keep back Mr. Bay!"

"I beg your-" Ardeth's eyes, clouded with confusion, cleared to a sparkling jocularity. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You misunderstand, Miss Adams. Please - sit back a moment."

Shifting backwards, Constance watched as Ardeth cleared a space for her in the sand. Cupping his hands, he dragged the top layers of sand away, creating a hollow in the ground. After a moment of this, there was a hollow large enough for Constance to lie in. He laid her pelt in the bottom of it.

"If you lie in here," he said, "You can feel the sand still warm from the day. Try it."

Face fraught with doubt, Constance eyed him warily. Slowly, she crawled into the hollow, wrapping the blankets around her, settling a carry-bag under her head for a pillow in the process. The warmth from the sun-soaked sand seeped in around her chilled limbs, and she wriggled down into her blankets, gasping with relief.

Another blanket floated down over her, and she frowned.

"But Mr. Bay - you need this!"

Ardeth gave a small smile. "It is evident you need it more than I. Sweet dreams, Miss Adams."

She met the desert man's brown eyes, examining the warm candidness there. It was unaccustomed, but welcome.

"Goodnight, Mr. Bay," she said softly, gathering her blankets up around her and closing her eyes.


	3. Meeting Evy

**Chapter Three**

Constance wavered in her perch on the camel's back, blonde curls falling loose and sagging, sweat dripping down her face. The wide brimmed hat she wore did little to stave off the heat. She concluded, upon this following morning, that this trip was a very, very big mistake. Evy would surely hear about her suffering.

_Why the hell am I here?_ she thought darkly, _Why in God's name did I agree to go to Egypt? Wine on the Nile - that's what I imagined! Bathing in the cool waters of a desert oasis - that is what I imagined. Not riding on a damned lumpy smelly animal with a wild man and a nymphomaniac for escorts!_

With cracked lips, she mumbled, "Are we there yet?"

Ardeth glanced back at her. "No."

"When will we be there?"

"Soon."

She huffed. "Mr. Bay, I truly feel like I'm about to die!"

Ardeth glanced back at her again, pressing his lips together. Jonathan, atop his own camel, let his beast catch up to theirs, wincing through the bright blinding sun to look at Constance's face. He made a 'tsk' noise.

"Damn, Ardeth, old mate," he said, "Poor Connie looks pretty exhausted."

Ardeth nodded. "Indeed." He pulled out the water skin, pulling out the stopper and handing it to her. She lifted her hands, fingers shaking, mouth opening and closing in anticipation for the water. Of a sudden, her eyes bugged, and gripping her saddle, she leant over the side of her beast, her stomach lurching and ridding itself of its contents.

"Ooh," Jonathan gave a sympathetic hiss, "That's not good."

Ardeth eyed her, face tight with worry. "She has heat exhaustion." He pulled his camel closer to Constance's steed, pulling her limp form up as she finished her coughing and spluttering, dragging sweaty strands of hair from her red blotchy features with his own shaking hands. "Miss Adams... are you all right?"

She gave a soft whimper.

Ardeth shook his head. "This is my fault."

Very faintly, Constance nodded.

Ardeth gave her a non-appreciative glare before lifting the water to her lips, cradling her jaw with a strong tanned hand. Constance's eyes lolled, eyelids low, the heat and effort of her body catching up to her and swamping her with an awful ache and lilting spoil within her bones and muscles. She felt truly awful.

"Please, Miss Adams," Ardeth said, hand slipping to the back of her neck, "Drink up."

He tilted up the water skin, supporting her head carefully, Constance swallowing the water faintly as it flowed from the skin into her mouth. It soon turned to gulping, and she tilted slightly unkempt brows at Ardeth.

"Mr. Bay..." she breathed softly.

"Yes, Miss Adams?"

She blinked slowly, gulping another mouthful of water before turning the skin away. "If I die, I shall haunt you for the rest of your days."

Ardeth's brows tilted, and he sighed. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am, Miss Adams..."

Constance shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she said, "Not unless I die."

"You won't die," Ardeth said, "It is only heat exhaustion. Many people of your complexion suffer from it the first time they encounter such heat."

"People can die of heat exhaustion," Constance said. "I read about it once."

Ardeth nodded. "As long as we keep you cool, you should be fine. Take off this jacket."

Constance just wavered in her seat, staring at him. With a jut of his bottom lip, Ardeth plucked open the buttons of her jacket swiftly.

"Mr. Bay I shall slap you if you continue to disrobe me."

"Miss Adams - you must cool down or you will get worse. If we keep you cool, this shall be a passing inconvenience. If not, it could mean your death." Ardeth looked past her to Jonathan. "Jonathan - take your water skin and please wet a blanket so we may lay it over Miss Adams' shoulders and arms."

"Right-O," nodded Jonathan, leaning over the side for his water skin.

Constance frowned at Ardeth. "Why didn't I get a water skin?"

Ardeth looked back at her. "You didn't ask for one. I assumed you had your own."

The blonde woman swallowed, meeting his calm but firm look. "Mr. Bay, I feel quite ill."

"I noticed."

With a cold wet slap, the heavy wet blanket landed over the woman's shoulders, and she shrieked.

"OH!" She looked around her, "That's awful!"

"It will save your life," Ardeth said.

The woman sighed, batting her eyelids in defeat. "Oh, very well!"

With a final sigh of relief, Ardeth shook his head. "Miss Adams, I mean you no offense, but you can be a very difficult woman."

She lifted a finger and pointed at him. "The Modern Woman often is, my dear Mr. Bay."

* * *

Time: 2 pm  
Date: November 14th, 1934

_Dear Diary, _

_Is hard to write. Am on camel still. Need to write to keep mind off feeling so damned awful. Got heat exhaustion. Shall kill Mr. Bay for keeping water from me. I would accuse him of trying to top me but I fear he is too ignorant to understand that a woman of the West is not suited to such harsh conditions. _

_Jonathan has been lifesaver. If not for him Mr. Bay would have bullheadedly kept on, and I would be dead. _

_Mr. Bay seems incredibly sorry about it. He keeps looking back at me and looking as if he wants to kick himself. He is quite welcome to. Am an hour from Hamunaptra. _

_Thank Bloody God._

_

* * *

_

The great hollow in the ground that was the Hamunaptra dig opened up before the group as their beasts plodded over the final dune towards their destination. Upon seeing the tents, marquis and small buildings, Constance gave an abrupt yelp of exultation. Jonathan merely grinned.

"Oh, thank God," Constance sighed, leaning her head back, the wet blanket gone, her white shirt unbuttoned to her navel and a makeshift shade-cloth erected over her head.

"Oh, Evy will be thrilled to see you," Jonathan said. "She really will."

Constance huffed with a lazy smile. "I'll be rather glad to see her too!"

Before she could finish, a stiff young cry interrupted her.

"MUM! CONSTANCE ADAMS TRAVELLING PARTY AHOOOOY!"

Constance narrowed her eyes, seeing a young blonde boy leap down from a look-out and run towards the group. She shifted uncomfortably in her saddle, looking back to Jonathan.

"Does he bite?"

Jonathan grinned. "Not hard, no."

Constance whimpered.

"Oh come on now, Connie," Jonathan said, his camel stopping aside hers before he slapped her on the upper arm, "He's a kid. I thought women were supposed to be great with children."

"Not me, Jonathan."

"Uncle JON!"

Jonathan climbed down from his perch on his camels back as the boy fidgeted with the reigns of the animal, grinning at the man dismounting it. Once on the ground, the boy threw his arms around his uncle. Jonathan chuckled.

"Hey Alex!"

Alex grinned and ruffled his uncle's curly brown hair, in which Jonathan ruffled the child's hair in response. Jonathan stepped back and dragged Alex around his camel.

"Hey Alex," he said, "Meet your Mum's friend - Constance Adams."

Constance smiled - it was a strained expression. Alex smiled up at her.

"Hello, Miss Adams."

"Hello, Alex," she said, pulling a straggled sweat-soaked tress from her face, "It's lovely to meet you."

Alex skipped around her camel and raced up to Ardeth, punching him in the thigh lightly as the beast knelt down to let its rider off.

"Hey, Ardeth!" he grinned, giving a salute, "Did you protect Miss Adams from jackals and scorpions?"

Before Ardeth could speak, Constance muttered, "No, Alex, he gave me heat exhaustion."

Both Ardeth and Alex turned to look at her slowly, blinking. At this, Constance gave a light smile, urging her camel onwards and towards the excavation camp.

"She always like that?" Alex asked Ardeth. Ardeth sighed.

"I am afraid so."

Constance stretched her neck, standing on the back of the camel some, feeling a smile take her face. Excitement spirited through her as she kept an eye out for the unmistakable long curly brown hair and large brown eyes of her closest friend. She could hear an excited shout, and she tried not to bounce in her seat.

"Hi."

Constance glanced beside her. A man stood next to her camel, dirty grey suspenders accentuating his wide shoulders, his light brown hair with sun-bleached streaks looking a little on the long side for her tastes and dust and dirt smeared on his square, statuesque features. He wore brown pants, knee-high boots and he stood with a cocked knee, smiling up at her with large blue eyes. Were he naked and helmeted with curly long hair, he would have made a fine David for Michelangelo, but as it was he just looked like a scruffy ruffian. She smiled politely at the man.

"Hello..."

"Oh, Rick O'Connell," the man said, extending a hand to Constance. "Evy's husband?"

Constance smiled thinly, shaking the hand carefully for all the dust on it. "Yes... I know who you are, Mr. O'Connell."

O'Connell stared at her a moment, flashing a wince at her. "Wow. You're like Evy before I got to her..."

Ardeth brought his camel alongside Constance's, looking to O'Connell with a warm smile.

"O'Connell..."

"Hey, Ardeth," O'Connell flashed a small smile back at the Medjai. "How was the trip from Cairo?"

"Bloody arduous!" cried Constance, "I very nearly died!"

Ardeth looked tiredly to O'Connell who nodded with understanding. It was at that moment an unaccustomed cry ripped through the air.

"Connieeee!"

Constance jumped up in her saddle, standing on the camel's back to see Evelyn O'Connell scamper up the side of the dig site with a mile wide grin. With a huge grin of her own, the blonde woman leapt off of her camel without so much as a blink at the fall, rejuvenated with affection and excitement. Ardeth threw himself towards her (O'Connell also jumping towards the hurtling woman), catching her deftly by the waist as a dancer would grip his partner to lift her, his face wrought with alarm at the woman's thoughtlessness. In her elation Constance seemed to miss that Ardeth had helped her at all. She ran to Evy who, with brown hair trailing in her gait, wrapped her arms around her old friend. Constance responded in kind, hugging Evelyn tightly.

"Oh, Evy!" she cried, "Oh, I never thought I'd see you again!"

Evelyn let out an excited cry. "Neither did I! Oh, look at you! You're even more beautiful than you were at Oxford! You don't look a day over twenty!" She grabbed Constance by the shoulders, twisting her around and shoving her at her husband. "Look at her Rick, look at that face. Is she not adorable? Does she not bear the most striking resemblance to Jean Arthur?"

Constance blushed, hair in her face and tossed about by Evy's rough handling.

"Who's Jean Arthur?" asked little Alex.

"Only the most glamourous actress there is!" said Evelyn, who looked to Rick again, turning her friend around once more, "Well sweetheart? Doesn't she?"

Rick tilted his head, thinly disguised dryness in his tone. "It's uncanny."

Evy sighed happily, looking to Ardeth now. "Connie was always the most glamourous of us both. She was the one that looked like a movie star and I was the one with her nose in the books but she always chose to spend time with me because she's a -"

"Modern woman," Ardeth finished for her. Evy blinked and grinned.

"Yes! And look at her! Even in desert clothes she's a picture!" She laughed and stepped back.

Constance felt a breeze at her chest, and looking down she gasped, eyes widening. Her white shirt fluttered open in the light wind.

"Nice undergarments," muttered Rick.

"Oh dear God!" Constance blushed red, buttoning up her shirt frantically. "Mr. Bay had helped me to cool off - it was the heat exhaustion! I'd forgotten it was undone to my - Oh God!"

Ardeth coughed, averting his gaze, and Jonathan covered Alex's eyes and turned him away.

"Yeah, had to keep her really cool," Jonathan said.

Rick nodded. "I'll bet."

Alex chuckled, twisting from his uncle's hands and nudging his father in the side.

"Anyway," Evy said, grasping Connie's hands, "You must be famished! Come on! We'll get you something to eat!"

"Actually - have you got any water?"

* * *

Time: 3.30 pm  
Date: November 14th, 1934

_Supplemental. _

_Dear Diary, _

_Have met up with Evy. She has changed more than I could ever think possible. The mousy studious girl I'd been friends with is quite the exotic woman now, and a part of me is surprised at this. Of all the people capable of such a change, I never picked sweet Evelyn. I am not sure why. I cannot wait to be alone with her so we may reminisce. _

_Her husband, Rick O'Connell, is just the scruff I imagined. His sense of humour leaves a lot to be desired, and having him in the vicinity of Mr. Bay and Jonathan is a lethal combination. _

_Little Alex is a smart one, which makes things worse. I simply have the most difficult time trying to talk to him. What does one say to a child? What can one say without belittling them or insulting them? All I know is my childhood was something I'd rather forget, so thinking back to it to try and relate to any child now is rather impossible for me. Still, Alex is a handsome child, very much like both his parents, and if there was ever a child that I could grow to tolerate, I think he'd be the one. _

_Haven't seen much of Mr. Bay since I arrived, as Evy has been showing me her finds, regaling me with tall tales of how she got to acquire the rights to her dig. It seems a rich social butterfly from Egypt had bought the land and had been looking for a specific mummified priest for some ritualistic reason that Evy said was too revolting to go into, and after the woman's sudden and unexpected demise the land and the dig was handed over to the Egyptian Government. The Cairo Museum automatically handed it over to Evy, given her experience with Hamunaptra. It's quite amazing that Evelyn is now one of the world's leading Egyptologists. After her terrible time trying to get into Bembridge, I'm incredibly proud of her. _


	4. Back Together

**Chapter Four**

Evelyn pulled Constance into her office with an excited step, chattering the whole way.

"This is my office," she said, "Where I'm writing my paper on the Religious Practices of the Eighteenth Dynasty!"

Constance looked about the room. It was more a tent than an office, crowded with boxes of books, a makeshift bookshelf in the corner, ceramics and old trinkets crowding tables and chairs. Evelyn cleared a few rolled up maps off of a chair, offering the seat to Constance.

"Thank you," Constance said, still eyeing the paraphernalia in the room.

"How many years has it been?"

Constance glanced to Evelyn, smiling. "Twelve, if I recall. I last saw you before you left-"

"For Cairo," finished Evelyn, nodding. "Right." She met Constance's large brown eyes and sighed. "That's far too long."

Constance smiled. "I understand how you got distracted. Rick and Alex are rather dynamic individuals."

"You have no idea!" sighed Evy, sinking into a chair and pulling a book into her lap. "You know, since I met Rick I've had barely a moment to breathe? Always on the move, always finding a new dig-"

"I believe you rather enjoy it," grinned Constance, "I can see it in your eyes."

Evy grinned back at Constance. "Yes. Yes, I do love it. Even after all this time, you know me too well."

"I don't know about that - looking at you I can barely recognise you!"

Evy glanced down at herself. "Why do you say that?"

"Well look at yourself! Dashing attire, tanned skin, dust on your hands. I've never seen you look so alive."

A smile crept slowly on Evelyn's face, and she tilted her head at her friend. "And look at you!"

Constance tutted. "I was more impressive to look at back home in London, dear Evy. The desert was most unkind to me."

The smile on Evelyn's face calmed, and she fingered the edge of her book thoughtfully.

"Tell me, Connie. How've you been all these years? What have you been doing? I mean, I've known you told me things in all our letters but I want to know how you've been, you know - how you are."

"Hmmm... What I've been doing..." Constance licked her lips nervously, running her fingers along a heavy leather glove on the table. "I've been writing articles for Cambridge Ladies' Journal."

"Yes, that's right! That's wonderful!" Evelyn sighed. "What have you been documenting?"

Connie's eyes met Evelyn's. "New developments in labour-saving appliances in the home."

The tiredness and unhappiness in Constance's voice was not lost on Evy, who edged her mouth open with some uncertainty.

"And I'm sensing you're not finding it the most fulfilling job you've ever had..."

"Oh Evy," Constance sighed, "I went to Cambridge University and studied cultural sciences and literature, and here I am stuck writing about damned cheese graters!"

Evy winced. "Ouch."

Constance sighed, shaking her head and throwing down the glove. "I'm sorry, Evy, I am. Here I am, starting off our wonderful reunion with my bitter wailing-"

Evy's hand shot out over her desk, grasping Connie's and she met the unhappy woman's eyes. "We're friends, Connie. The best of friends. If you can't bitterly wail to your best friend, who can you wail to?"

Connie gave a contrite smile, gripping Evy's hand. "Thank you."

"No problem!" Evy said, patting Connie's hand before opening up the book in her lap. "How are things going with that young man you'd written me about? What was his name?"

"Gregory," Constance said, blinking and looking away. "Not well I'm afraid."

"Oh?"

"I decided to leave him."

"When did you do that?" Evelyn asked, her face falling, looking up from a book she'd just been flicking through.

"Last year."

"Oh? Why?"

Constance sighed, looking at a small statue on the table. "He wanted me to quit my job once I married him. I refused."

Evy frowned softly. "Oh."

Constance nodded. "Oh."

Evy placed her book on the table, looking away.

"I'm a twenty-eight year old woman, Evelyn, and I'm still unmarried. I've put my job - little that it is - above a married life. I am the only woman I know that has done this. I forget how many times men have derisively muttered 'suffragette' at me like it's some insult. I stand by this lifestyle that I have, a lifestyle of independence yet solitude, and I get nothing out of it. What am I, Evelyn, what am I?"

Constance's large harried eyes met Evelyn's, and Evy met them, a conviction in her own.

"You're a modern woman, that's what you are."

Bottom lip quivering, Constance looked down into her lap, her eyes growing red. "It is so lonely being what I am, Evelyn."

Evelyn wove around her desk, kneeling beside her friend, wrapping her hands around Constance's. "Listen to me Connie, please." Constance glanced at Evelyn reluctantly. "There have been times whilst I've been in Egypt where I've needed to stand up for myself and my beliefs. Those days back at secondary school with you and the way you always stood your ground - they've inspired me always. They have."

"That's funny," Constance said, tilting her head and swallowing back tears. "There have been times when I've said too much, acted out of haste and I've thought... Why couldn't I be a woman of poise? Like my dear Evelyn?"

Evelyn stood, wrapping her arms around Constance and hugging her tightly. "Things will work out for you, Connie. They will. I truly believe we all have a destiny." Evelyn leant back, meeting her best friend's eyes. "I have no doubt that yours will be not only unique, but memorable."

Constance brushed the back of her knuckles over Evy's cheek affectionately, sighing. "You're too sweet, Evy. You are."

"Come on," Evelyn said, patting her friend on the shoulder. "We'll make some tea and spend some time with my lug of a husband."

"I'm sorry about all this Evy," Constance said, "I'm just - I've had a rough day."

Evelyn took Constance's hand, squeezing it. "Don't apologize, Connie. I understand. And besides... it's what I'm here for."

* * *

The table in the dining tent looked thoroughly out of place. It was varnished and deeply brown, spread with a thin linen tablecloth that was slightly transparent and heavy with trays and dishes of food. The food was prepared not to excess, but to precision in account of company and appetite. Dinner was the largest meal of the day, and was catered to accordingly. Food and drink were not things that the O'Connells, or their paid workers and colleagues, liked to waste. Not in the deserts of Egypt, anyways. Around the table sat two of the scholars that were helping Evelyn catalogue the findings and translate the documentations unearthed in Hamunaptra, Ardeth was beside her, picking almost with uncertainty at the western dish of potatoes and lamb with gravy in front of him. On the other side of the Medjai sat Jonathan, wolfing down his meal and chasing it down with a glass of wine, and at the head of the table sat Rick. Adjacent to him sat Evelyn. Next to Evelyn was her son, Alex, who was quietly intrigued with the blonde woman taking up so much of his mother's attention. He looked up at Constance across the crowded dinner table, fingering his fork idly.

"What did you study in university, Miss Adams?"

Constance eyed the boy over her plate of lamb and carrots. "Cultural Sciences."

Rick shifted in his chair, clearing his throat audibly. He looked to Ardeth, flashing a brief strained smile. "Uh... Ardeth? Could you please pass me the potatoes?"

"Certainly."

"What kind of cultures did you study then?"

"All sorts," said Constance.

"Like?"

"Pick one, dear Alex, and I've probably studied it."

Alex poked at his potatoes, then looked up to Constance. "Mesopotamian."

"Ancient Societies, first year."

The boy nodded, pressing his lips together thoughtfully. He narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Hungarian."

"Eastern Europe Studies, fourth year."

"Alex," Evy said, laying down her fork, "Let poor Connie eat, will you?"

Alex looked to his mother with a contrite nod of his head. "Yes, Mum."

Connie looked to the boy eating, a warm sludgy feeling inside of her. He looked disappointed. There was a sharpness about the child Constance found frightening and intriguing at the same time. He was different from other children she'd ever met, and he was alone. Tipping her head idly, Constance forked up some buttered potato, pursing her lips. "Perhaps... you can ask me more questions tomorrow."

Glancing up from his plate, the boy smiled. Constance didn't quite know what to do with that. It was the first time she could remember a child ever smiling at her.

With some unease, she smiled back.

* * *

Her footsteps were light on the compact, trodden sand as she toed her way to the empty campfire, Ardeth sitting there alone on a crate and tending to the bird wrapped in the make-shift papoose against his chest. She hadn't spoken to him for some time, and she didn't know why she felt a compunction to sit and talk with him now. Curiosity, it was about her curiosity. At Constance's steps he looked up, and upon seeing who it was, smiled a little. She smiled back, sitting across from him at the fire, tentativeness in her movements.

"How's the bird? Ra- Ra-"

"He is well," said Ardeth. "I usually just call him Ra."

"Oh," Constance nodded. "Evelyn is just putting Alex to bed."

Ardeth gazed at her briefly before patting his bird again. After a moment, "You are feeling better?"

"Much," Constance said. "After I finished exposing myself to half of Egypt, no less."

Ardeth smiled. "You are among friends here. I doubt they will think anything of it."

Constance gave a weary smile. "No. They'll just make embarrassing jokes until I pass out from blushing."

The desert warrior just smiled, slowly stroking the down of the bird against him. She noticed his eyes, the way they gazed down at the young bird with such tenderness. She was quietly intrigued by his care and nurturing, by the aura of peace that seemed to surround the man. She cleared her throat.

"So... what exactly is a - um - a Medjai?"

Ardeth looked up slowly. "A Medjai is a protector of the Pharaoh, a warrior of God."

Constance gave a curious frown. "But there is no Pharaoh."

"Yes," Ardeth nodded, looking down to Ra. "There is what the Pharaoh left behind. Their treasures, their curses. We protect what is left of them in this life, so they may have peace and ease of mind in the next."

An amused smile spread across Constance's face tentatively. "Well - you don't believe in those silly curses, do you?"

Ardeth's eyes met hers, and they burned through her playful jostling. "I know you are a woman of the spirit, Miss Adams," he said. "And your question is one asked out of fear. Fear not, for I have seen much, and will not berate you for believing in such things."

Constance's smile turned curious. "How much have you seen?"

"Enough that I do not take anything for granted."

She couldn't help but give a wild, free smile. "Sounds fascinating."

Ardeth's lips turned up in a similar smile, one that warmed Constance's heart.

"Bloody hell, putting that kid to bed should have been one of Heracles' Twelve Tasks!"

She felt herself snapped away from the moment, and she turned her head, watching Evelyn stride to the camp with two steaming mugs in her hands. Glancing up from watching where she was going, Evy's mouth fell open.

"Oh..."

She looked from Ardeth (who glanced away to pat his bird like a child caught gazing out a window during class), to Constance (who smiled bashfully and fiddled with her fingers), and sighed.

"Oh... did I interrupt-"

"Of course not," laughed Constance lightly, "We were just talking about what Medjai do..." Ardeth gave a short smile.

"Save the world, that's what." Evelyn said, sitting carefully on a crate by the fire. "Trust me, I wouldn't want Ardeth's job."

"Sometimes I don't want it either," Ardeth said.

"What's in the mugs?"

Evy looked into one of them. "Hot chocolate. I'm sorry Ardeth, if I knew you were out here I would have gotten one for you too."

Ardeth stood, cradling the papoose housing his pet with one hand. "It is fine. I should be retiring for the night."

"You don't have to," Constance found herself saying, and Ardeth smiled.

"It is late, and you and Evelyn have much to catch up on. Good night, Miss Adams."

Constance felt herself looking away with a coy smile. "Good night, Mr. Bay."

"Evelyn..."

Evelyn smiled and nodded to Ardeth. "Night, Ardeth."

The Medjai gave a final nod, and with a sweep of his robes strode from the camp. Constance quite forgot there was anyone else at the camp until she heard a giggle. She glared at Evelyn.

"What's so funny?"

Evelyn leant on an arm, cocking her shoulder, eyeing an invisible Ardeth with pouted lips.

"Good night," she breathed, "Mr. Baaay."

"Ooh!" Constance smacked Evelyn in the arm, blushing bright red, Evelyn just giggling and supping at her cocoa. "You're an evil woman, Evy."

"No, I'm not, I'm made of sugar and spice and all things nice," she grinned.

"If you believe that you'll believe anything!"

Evelyn sipped from her mug once more, a touch of seriousness in her eyes. "You could do worse than a Medjai, you know."

Constance double took. "Evy! He's a desert man and - I'm not even having this conversation."

"It was only a suggestion," Evelyn shrugged. "I won't make it again if it offends you."

"It doesn't," Constance said, tipping her head, "I just - I don't want to think about that sort of thing right now."

Evelyn nodded. After a moment, "He's very brave."

"Evy..."

"Okay, okay! No mentioning Ardeth in a romantic context in front of you."

"Thank you."

Evelyn gave a contained smile, eying Constance sideways. Constance just scowled.

The golden light of the well established camp-fire flickered and touched the women's faces, both of them smiling at each other, laughter in their eyes. The sky was a deep blue, awash with clouds of stars, the moon nowhere to be seen. The rest of the camp was quiet, everyone else long in their beds. Constance sipped the mug of hot chocolate she had in her hands, a blanket around her body.

"Remember when we left those pair of knickers in the principle's coat?" she said, grinning at Evy.

"Yes!" gasped Evy, "And then during the lesson he dipped into his pocket to take out his chalk and got the panties instead!"

The women broke into laughter, Evy leaning on Connie's shoulder and giggling, Connie sipping her drink and sniggering.

"Those were good days," Evelyn said through a smile, nudging Constance's shoulder.

Constance looked into the fire, thinking of those days sharing a bunk at Oxford Ladies College, sharing jokes and clothes and shampoo, staying up all night and talking of dreams. Evelyn always dreamed of Egypt, and Constance dreamed of...

"Remember that night back at college," Constance said, "When you asked me if I could do anything once I left college, what would it be?"

Evy's eyes softened. "Yes."

"I said I wanted to see the world, and do something to make it a better place." Constance looked away and sighed. "All I've done since then is writing about toasting irons in a stupid bloody magazine."

Evelyn frowned. "As I see it, you're in Egypt. And now you're starting a great adventure - because you're away from England, you're in a new place, meeting new people, learning new things." The frown disappeared and Evelyn smiled, "It's the beginning of something new, you see. In Egypt, you can be anything."

A smile crept on Connie's face. "Oh? And what are you?"

Evelyn sat up, grinning naughtily. "Adventurer! Explorer! Princess of the Nile!"

Constance broke into laughter, "My dear, you've gotten even madder since Oxford!"

"Yes! But I'm happy," Evelyn said, calming down some. "Tell me, in your heart of hearts - what do you want to do more than _anything_?"

Oh, that question. Connie hated it. She'd asked herself that so many times, and every time she got the response she wanted to die from embarrassment. It was a stupid, silly dream. She hated that it gave her so much joy to think about. She could feel Evy's eyes on her, and she met them with her lips thin.

"It's stupid."

Evelyn shrugged, "I don't care."

"I can't believe I'm going to tell you this..."

"Just tell me Connie!"

Gulping in a lungful of air, Connie let it all out in one breath. "I want to contact the other side!"

Her eyes were wide as silence dropped around the camp. She couldn't believe she had said it - to Evelyn. She didn't know why he'd been able to tell Jonathan... perhaps because he inadvertently provoked her so, but to tell Evelyn... It was something she thought she'd never do. Evelyn frowned.

"The other side of what?"

Constance winced, disappointment bursting inside of her. "_The_ other side! I knew you wouldn't understand!"

Evelyn's eyes bugged, "Ohh, THAT other side! Is that what you mean!"

Constance nodded, looking away. "I think about it night and day! In all the research done in other cultures, their religions always intrigued me because they had certain things about them that were so similar! I believe there truly MUST be something more than this, that we're all experiencing!" She met Evelyn's large brown eyes again and sighed. "You think I'm mad, don't you?"

"No!" Evelyn shook her head. "No Connie, I don't. If you knew what I've been through here in Egypt... the experiences I've had... Well... Contacting the departed doesn't seem so strange to me at all."

Sighing, Connie nodded, some relief falling through her.

"I'm just surprised you never told me about your interest."

"Oh!" Connie waved an arm. "I only got interested in it the past few years. When I read about it - I felt more alive than I ever had. I had this burning need to know. Why? Why did these things happen the way they did? Was there more than what conventional science can accept? It was so intriguing to me." Constance pressed her lips together, a sparkle in her eyes dancing with glee. "And then I read that there are people that actually research these things for a living. They call themselves parapsychologists!"

"So I've heard," Evelyn nodded. "Why don't you give up your position at Cambridge and join a society?"

Constance shrugged. "I want to, I do. Recently, I've been meditating three times a day, and using my crystal ball, to practice contacting my spirit guides!"

Evelyn blinked. "You actually have a crystal ball?"

"Yes."

A smile broke across her friend's face. "Oh Connie - I think you should dive into a life of spirituality without any reservations!"

Constance blinked, "Really!"

Evelyn nodded. "Yes! But _after_ you get home to England."

The joy in Constance's eyes broke and she looked at her friend with loss. "Evelyn?"

Evelyn sighed, taking her friends hands in hers. "Trust me, Connie. You can be anything in Egypt, except you can't contact the dead."

"Why not?"

"I'll tell you sometime," Evelyn said, looking away. "Needless to say, it can be a very dangerous past-time here. When they say these places we visit are cursed - they're not joking."

The jovial mood left the pair, and Constance had sadness about her.

"Please, Constance. I just worry about you playing with such things here in Egypt."

Constance glanced at Evelyn, offense in her eyes. "I'm not 'playing', Evy. I've been practicing for five years! I want it to be my profession!"

"Yes, you've practiced, but in England!" Evelyn said. "Egypt-"

"Is full of cursed places, I heard you." Constance stood up, dusting herself off. "You know, it took a lot for me to tell you about my dream and - and I don't think you take it seriously."

Evelyn stood up after her, stepping forward. "No, Connie. I take it _very_ seriously!" She swallowed, gazing at Constance. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be so scared for you trying it here."

With a final sigh, Constance shrugged. "I can look after myself, Evy."

Evelyn wrapped her arms about herself, worry in her eyes. "I know, Connie. But what's in those tombs, and what we can't see in this place... it's more than any one person can deal with."

Pulling her eyes away from her best friend, Constance turned, striding from the camp, shoulder length blonde hair billowing behind her.

* * *

Time: 9.30 pm  
Date: November 14th, 1934

Supplemental.

_Evelyn must be my best friend. We had a bit of a disagreement tonight, and I feel awful. Just like old times. Not that we've ever had problems getting along, just we both have such strong opinions, that when they're oppositional, it can cause problems. _

_I'm not angry at Evelyn. In fact I understand her, very much. I'm disappointed, I suppose. Something about Egypt has always made me feel in touch with the beyond. I was greatly anticipating some intriguing séances here. I have a feeling things will blow over. _

_The nerve of the girl, however, to poke fun at me regarding Mr. Bay! Really! We're from two completely different cultures! As handsome as the man is, he is not suitable for me in any way, and I don't know why I'm even THINKING about him like that. _

_My ideal man is suave, wears a suit, has short hair, no beard and finds everything I do completely thrilling. I guess this is why I'm still single at 28. _

_I did enjoy talking with Ardeth, though. He has such a peace about him... I've never seen it in a man before. It's as if he has a deep understanding about everything about him. The desert isn't death to him, and in the way he lives, he seems so... well... for a lack of a better word - alive! _

_Tomorrow Evelyn will take me to Karnak via airship so I may see the ruins there. I look forward to it, and look forward to speaking further to Evelyn and solving our disagreement.  
_


	5. Magic Carpet Ride

**Chapter Five**

_The world around her seemed odd... darker, colder, duller. As she stepped forward, she felt a cool breeze around her arms, and looking down, she gasped. Ribbed linen wrapped her body, the neckline of her dress low and revealing the creamy pale swells of her breasts. Around her neck hung a small silver stone-tiled necklace, an unimpressive show of jewelry as far as Egyptian fair went. Small silver gauntlets were on her wrists, and her feet were shod with thin leather sandals that wound up her legs. She glanced up, and her hair billowed around her shoulders. It was straight and blonde, cut severely at the ends._

_She felt the grip of two sets of hands at her upper arms. They were dark, strong, tanned hands. Upon them were strange dark blue tattoos, like sideways letter 'E's with slender pointed ends._

_Ahead of her a set of marble steps were crowded with - Egyptians. They were dusted with gold, heavily covered in the most beautiful of jewels and finery. Their apparel was woven with gold thread, printed with rich colours dulled by her memory. Upon a red granite and onyx throne an older man sat, a helmet of red and white, crested with a golden cobra, resplendent on his head. His eyes were lined with dark make-up, and on his face was a stern frown that chilled her to her core._

_Her eyes travelled down to the woman by his side, not in a throne but a Grecian-style one-man seat, her arm wrapped around the man's next to her, her body thick with gold, her arms bound with the same stuff, her shoulders plated in a gold aegis, her face..._

_She pulled a breath in._

_"Evy!"_

_

* * *

_

Constance felt a terrible pull that started deep in her chest and she jumped up.

Deep blue. Staggering to her feet, she plodded across the room... sand? No room - sand beneath her. Sand meant - Egypt. She groaned inwardly. Egypt meant tent. Reaching the other side of her tent, she pulled open the white canvas, and her breath caught.

Facing away from the dig, all she could see from her 'door' was waves and waves of sand... dunes, blue in the pre-dawn light, the sky a sweet purple, as if preparing itself for the coming of the burning sun.

She licked her lips, a frown of incomprehension on her face. Why only now did this seem so beautiful?

"Oh! Miss Adams!"

Blinking, Connie rubbed her face, looking over the source of the voice. She smiled wanly. Little blonde boy, running towards her.

"Alex," she said, "Good morning. You're up early."

He nodded. "We're leaving early."

"Oh?"

"I was just about to come wake you." The boy kicked some sand, and when an insect scuttled out of the dust, he knelt to have a good look at it. After poking it with the single end of a slingshot he produced from a back pocket, he stood straight with a nod, pleased that he'd given it a thorough investigation. "Haven't seen many of those before."

Rubbing her brow, Constance sighed. "Why are we leaving early?"

"Oh, Izzy needs to get back so he can fly some rich patrons around and show them the sights at Giza."

She winced slightly. "Who's Izzy?"

Nodding, Alex pointed to her and traipsed off. "He's our pilot!"

Constance felt her throat go dry, and her mind grow numb at the thought of being piloted by someone whose name sounded like an exotic intestinal condition. "Get ready, Connie, go get dressed," she muttered to herself, "Things cannot get worse, they possibly cannot get worse."

Her carry bags held barely any clothing, so what she wore was a haphazard combination of things that were never supposed to be worn together. They were merely loose to wear and comfortable. So when she approached the dining tent with a billowy white shirt on, much looser than the one she wore the day previous, dark loose slacks tucked into the one pair of knee-high boots she somehow managed to bring with her, and a wide-brimmed hat on, she felt utterly ridiculous.

Entering the tent, Rick (at the head of the table as usual) looked up from his breakfast and gave a manly giggle. "Look, Evy, it's a bee-keeper."

Constance blushed wildly, and next to him, Evelyn glanced up and frowned.

"Rick! Don't be a child." She sighed patiently and looked over to Constance. "Connie - never mind him, he's in a mood this morning. Did you sleep all right?"

Constance nodded, walking over to the table and pulling off her hat. "Wonderfully. I was most relieved to be in a bed again. Though - I think Egypt is getting to me already! I had the strangest dream!" She turned and strode over to the table lining the furthest wall of the dining tent, bedecked with imported breakfast foods from England sent especially for the O'Connells. Her stomach grumbled at the foods in front of her - English muffins, eggs, bacon, fried potato slices with lashings of chives, mint and butter. Taking her share she turned back to the table only to meet the intrigued stares of Evelyn and Rick.

"Uhhh," Rick cocked his head and pulled a loose tress of sun-bleached hair behind his ear. "What was the dream about?"

Approaching the table to sit adjacent to Rick, Constance giggled, mentally deciding that gas lamp-light made food look utterly irresistible.

Cutting into her eggs, she said, "Well - I was in this Egyptian get up, but it was terribly drab! All silver and boring stones. Silver, silver, silver - that's all I had on!"

Evy seemed to calm a little at this, and smiled. "Really?"

Speaking around a tiny mouthful of egg, Constance nodded. "Indeed. The strange thing was - it was me. I had my fair skin, my blonde hair. It was straight as a line, that's the funniest thing!" She giggled again and swallowed. "You know what really stood out to me though?" Rick shook his head. "Well, it was a number of things, but the thing that stood out at me, was that one of the Egyptians - " Constance broke into a giggle, "You will laugh when you hear this!"

The wed couple just lifted their brows expectantly, and Connie pointed to Evelyn.

"YOU were one of the Egyptians!" She giggled, and shook her head. "Crazy."

Evelyn smiled, but there was the slightest hint of stress behind it. "Really? How amusing!" She looked down to her food, a hurried tension in her movements making the supposedly casual cutting of her bacon totally unconvincing. She added in a similarly hurried and terse fashion, "Which one was I?"

Connie glanced up. "What?"

"Egyptian," Rick said, pointing at nothing in particular with his knife and fork. "Which Egyptian..."

With a shrug and a laugh, Constance said. "I think you were the Princess."

Evy choked, bending over her breakfast, coughing up whatever had gone down sideways in her throat. Rick thumped her back carefully.

"Evy?"

Connie stood, alarm on her face. "Evy!"

Evy sat up, eyes watering, shaking her head and waving a hand.

"I'm fine!" she croaked, food roughing her throat, "You just took me by surprise!"

Constance smiled with a little relief, and sat down again, pulling in her chair.

"So what happened in this dream?" Evelyn said after a moment of composing herself.

"Not a lot," Connie frowned. "I had a look at what I was wearing, my strange hair style, and then I looked up and saw you. That was it." She tilted her head then, pursing her lips in a look of certainty. "I believe it was the cosmos telling me something."

Evy lifted her brows. "Really?"

"Indeed," nodded Connie. "Perhaps..." She stared at Evelyn a long moment, seemingly oblivious to the squirming the poor woman was doing under her gaze, "Yes! I know!" She thumped the table, and Rick flinched. "It was telling me about my current situation!"

"Which is?" Rick croaked.

"This!" She said. "I'm in the desert... in the dream I'm in Egyptian clothes, and I was European looking! Blonde, pale... it was putting into a situation how out of place I was feeling!"

Evy smiled at this, although with a strained edge. "How true."

"And you, Evy... you next to the throne! It was telling me how at HOME you are here in Egypt! How the energies here in Egypt have taken you into their protection and the way you live here, and have command over your life - it's as if you're a princess!"

Rick smiled, shaking his head. "That's amazing, Connie."

Evelyn gave her husband a lost smile, tilting her head to Connie and nodding. Rick didn't believe a word of it, she could tell, and Constance was so enveloped by her mysticism that she missed Rick's irony.

"That must be it," Evelyn nodded.

Constance smiled, tucking into her meal. The seemingly bewildered reaction of her company didn't surprise Constance. Many people were wary of the unknown, especially scientist types, like Evelyn. Time would pass, and life would show them the real nature of the universe. Maybe through her love of Egypt... Constance laughed. Perhaps an experience in one of her digs would bring her home!

It was halfway through her serve of potatoes that a beguiling scent of jasmine and fine musk (perhaps only the slightest whiff of sandalwood today) wafted through the door. She tried to squash the thrilled tingle in her chest as she turned her head to the entrance of the dining tent to see Ardeth Bay pulling back the canvas doorway. He looked up from his task, meeting Constance's expectant gaze and, as if forgetting himself, smiled a little.

Rick looked to the man in the doorway, frowning. "Ardeth? Was there something you wanted?"

Ardeth glanced up, looking immediately guilty, and stood straight, nodding. "I just came to tell you that Izzy has arrived."

Constance looked away, trouble returning to her features. She looked to Rick, wringing her lips before swallowing and speaking.

"Tell me, Mr. O'Connell-"

"Rick."

"Rick," Constance gave a nod and continued, "Is this... er... Izzy - is he a reputable pilot?"

Rick grinned. "Absolutely."

* * *

The dark man with silver teeth swaggered from the patchwork air-ship, waving a hand about. "This had better be bloody worth it, O'Connell," he swore, scratching his side on the way over. "I've left some very wealthy patrons waiting!" 

Constance grit her teeth, glaring at O'Connell sharply. Reputable indeed.

"Izzy," Rick said, ignoring the man's complaints, "Please. Meet Constance Adams, Evy's friend from school."

Izzy seemed suddenly apologetic as he noticed Constance there, and wiping his hand on his dirty shirt he offered it to the woman. "Ma'am."

Constance shook it lightly, her smile thin. "Mr..."

"Oh, you can just call me Izzy."

"Mr. Izzy," she said. "A pleasure... in some way I haven't figured out yet, but I will."

Izzy leapt up the side of his vessel with a nimbleness of familiarity, throwing over a rope and plank-ladder with a winning, if not patchwork, smile.

"All aboard who's going aboard!" he cried, patting the railing of the river barge-come-airship. Constance took one look at it and gawped.

"Mr. Izzy!" she gasped, "Are you suggesting we fly around the Nile in something that my Grandmother could have stitched together in her front living room!"

Izzy blinked at her, a confused look on his face and then pointed to his ship. "No... I'm suggesting you fly in my dirigible."

Evelyn grabbed Constance's elbow, squeezing it lightly. "Come on, Con! It's sturdier than it looks."

Constance winced at the ship as she was urged to climb the ladder. "I think I shall refrain on commenting on its looks, Evy."

Evelyn grinned up at Connie from under her hat, Ardeth making his way up the rope ladder next. A dirty, dark hand tugged Evelyn's sleeve, and turning around she met the shifty eyes of Izzy.

"Look, you heard about them weird dust-storms out in the deserts recently?" Evelyn frowned and shook her head. "Well, there've been a lot of them."

"Well, if you don't want to fly Izzy I-"

"Naw, naw," Izzy waved a hand, "They're over now. It's what's been un_cov_ered by those storms that I thought you'd want to know about."

Evelyn eyed him. "Uncovered? What? What's been uncovered?"

Rick sidled up beside Evelyn, a thin weary smile on his full lips. "Evy. You're getting that look in your eyes again."

"Tell me Izzy! What's been uncovered!" She was like a child trying to find out what she got for Christmas.

"A buried city!" Izzy said, metallic teeth gleaming in his excited grin. Rick lifted a hand.

"Now wait a minute-"

"Where!"

Rick frowned. "Did either of you hear me?"

"North of Thebes."

The woman's blue eyes bugged. "How far north!"

"About a hundred miles!"

Evy practically spasmed with excitement. "Are you sure!"

"Evy... no..."

"Absolutely!" Izzy was getting whipped into a similar state of excitement, his black eyes glinting.

"Izzy, I thought you didn't like excitement," Rick said through tense lips.

"Oh, if this city pans out and I helped you find it - well there might be something in if for me won't there?" He looked to Evy, who nodded.

"Oh yes, most definitely!" She eyed him. "If you get us there in one piece!"

He tilted his head at her. "Have I let you down yet?"

Evelyn grinned and grabbed his shirt. "No!" She planted a kiss on his cheek and ran for her tent. "I'm getting the digging equipment!"

Rick spun around and strode after her. "Now, Evy, WAIT!"

When he made it to Evelyn's work tent there were books being thrown about the room, the clattering of shifting pottery and furniture filling the man's ears.

"Evy..."

"Rick darling, where did I put my damn tool leather? It's here somewhere..."

"Evelyn, please stop."

She ducked up from the other side of her desk, a grin on her face and her tools in her hand. "Found them!" She strode to the door, but the hands of her husband gripped her shoulder, pulling her to a stop. She looked up to him, smile falling, eyes meeting his with a little despair. "Rick..."

"Evy," he pressed, "Do you really want to go into any more old hidden cities?" Her jaw dropped open to say something and Rick continued. "You know what's happened when we've messed with this stuff before."

Evelyn whimpered, gripping his shirt. "But Rick! It's a whole NEW city! And - the location!"

Rick smiled like the location could be on Mars, and he wouldn't care. "What about the location?"

"North of Thebes!" she gasped, "Do you know what that means!" With that smile still on his face, Rick shook his head. "A hundred miles north of Thebes, said to be the possible location of the holy city of Amarna!"

"Okay, then we're definitely not going." Evelyn squeaked to complain but Rick just glared at her. "Holy is bad, Evy. Holy means there are all sorts of weird spooks there making sure we DON'T plunder them of their well kept and guarded riches, okay?"

"Oh come on, Rick!" she sighed, stomping the floor with a foot, "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Rick smiled thinly. "It died when you did, sweet-pea."

Pressing her lips together determinately, Evelyn hugged her tools to her chest. "Fine. This could be yet ANOTHER major discover for me, Rick. I'll be careful this time, very careful!" Rick narrowed his eyes. "I promise."

Rick sighed, pushing her out the door. "First sign of trouble and we're OUT of there, you got me?"

"I PROMISE!" She giggled, jumped, planted a kiss on Rick's lips and raced to the airship. "I promise!"


	6. The Story is Told

**Chapter Six**

The dirigible, much to her surprise, was a quiet and smooth ride. Much smoother than the one time she'd been on an aeroplane. She sat at the prow of the converted boat, listening to Evelyn and Alex talk heatedly about problems with the 'tutor'. Obviously, Alex needed a tutor because he was at a dig and not at a boarding school in England. Constance approved of this; she remembered the time she had been at a boarding school with much darkness and distaste. No, the wilds of Egypt were far safer and healthier to the mind in comparison to the yards and corridors of a boarding school - girls or boys.

"She's a witch, Mum!" the boy complained. "You should have seen how much homework she made me do!"

"Probably nothing compared to what I'll make you do if you don't pull your socks up."

Alex groaned. "Trust me, I don't mind a reasonable amount of work, but this woman is ridiculous."

"Look, I'll have a talk to her. I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding, but you have to reign in this errant behaviour of yours."

"Yes Mum," Alex said in something akin to a subdued moan.

Constance glanced back from gazing at the lull and rise of the pristine dunes embroidered occasionally with the dappled tracks of camels and horses, to the group sitting on the pews near the steering box where Izzy stood vigil. Jonathan sat next to Alex, and next to Alex was Evelyn. Rick sat on the other side of her, and next to him was Ardeth. Ardeth... for all intents and purposes he seemed totally normal, but there was a crease of worry in the man's tattooed brow that never seemed to abate. Constance had noticed it with some curiosity before, but now, hours later, it was downright getting on her nerves. Thankfully, Rick must also have noticed because he looked up from his dirty hands and frowned.

"Ardeth - is there something wrong or did you put your long underwear on the wrong way this morning?" Ardeth blinked, looking to Rick with some bewilderment and Rick just patted him on the shoulder. "Never mind. What's wrong?"

Ardeth wove his hands together, looking to his front with some dismay. "I had to leave Ra in the care of your camel tender so I could join you on this trip."

Constance couldn't believe it. He was that wound up over a pet bird?

"Well..." Rick pursed his lips awkwardly, and shrugged. "We'll be back before you know it."

Ardeth nodded, the same discomfort in his features. He paused, then said, "Ra will miss me." Rick just stared at Ardeth, not really knowing how to answer that one. "He thinks I am his mother."

Rick nodded very slightly, lips still pursed, helplessness in his eyes. He didn't know how to answer the comment before. Now he was totally lost. "Er... why couldn't you take him with you?"

Ardeth just met Rick's eyes levelly. "Evelyn is going to wander temples."

Rick nodded again. "Yeap - good chance of desecration and danger."

"My thoughts exactly," said Ardeth, avoiding the glare of Evelyn.

"You two!" she growled, "Honestly! We're entering an ancient city, not unearthing Imhotep himself!"

At this point Constance had to look back and meet her best friend's eyes, because she had absolutely no idea what she was going on about. All she heard was the words 'danger', 'desecration' and 'temples' and she felt suddenly uneasy.

"Evelyn..."

Evy looked over to Connie and smiled. "Yes?"

"Is it so wise to go inside of these holy places without permission from the spirits residing there?"

Rick, Jonathan and Alex looked at Constance as if she'd grown a third eye. Evelyn seemed suddenly annoyed and Ardeth just looked intrigued.

"Perhaps, but I think it's probably better if we just leave the spirits alone and keep to reading hieroglyphs and studying the history, don't you?" Constance shrugged. To this Evelyn sighed, shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry Connie," she said, "I just - I don't want to accidentally set something off like I did the last-"

Constance eyed Evelyn now, turning right about from her spot at the prow and folding her arms. "What last time?"

Rick glanced to Evelyn. "You mean you never told her... I mean... about the mummies?" Rick ticked his head, "You know..." He mimed a growling mummy, "Raagh."

Constance rose a brow, "Raagh?"

Evelyn blushed, "No."

Ardeth looked from Evelyn to Constance, his face calm but his eyes glinting in a way that indicated thoughts were buzzing around in his pretty little head.

"Well, why not?" Jonathan asked. "I mean - she's your best friend isn't she? Oxford Ladies, Ra, Ra, Ra, and all that?"

"Yes," Connie said, walking forward calmly with a light humouring smile on her face. "That's what I thought."

The tension between the women was one of warmness, of sisters where one didn't tell the other that she'd been pregnant for a month and was just trying to find the right time to tell her. Some tension, some disappointment, but mostly excitement at what the news meant.

"I told her some things," Evy said, squirming, looking to her company, "Not everything..." The silence and the stares were daunting, and she shrank. "It's just - it all sounds so ridiculous out loud... I felt..." She winced, "Embarrassed?"

Rick snorted, nodding, "Sure! That time when you opened the case when you shouldn't have! What a gaff!"

Evelyn blushed even more and she smacked her husband playfully, "Rick!"

"Evy darling, why embarrassed?"

Evelyn shrugged, "Well... you know... it's typical that goofy Evy 'Can't walk in a straight line without causing a catastrophe' Carnahan would not only awaken dark mysterious Egyptian mystical forces in her explorations once, but twice!"

Rick smiled, "They called you 'Goofy Evy'?"

Alex giggled, Jonathan nodding sagely.

"That's not important now." With a sigh, Connie sank down on the lone empty place left on one of the crate-come-pews. "Come on, then, you lot," she said, "Tell me all about it."


	7. The Nightmare Returns

**Chapter Seven**

They told her all about it. Connie looked paler than she usually did, and this was quite a feat. She shook her head in amazement.

"So..." She frowned, touching her bottom lip, "You... you're saying... that these mummies rose..."

"From the dead, yes," Rick nodded.

"Quite extraordinary, really," Jonathan said.

"Gross too," added Alex.

Constance gave a light, amazed laugh, shaking her head. "Amazing." She threw her hands up and sighed. "Then it must be fate that brought me here!"

Evelyn glanced up, "How's that?"

"Well," Constance shrugged, "If ever you were in need of a spiritual adviser, I think it's now, when you're making a new discovery!"

Evelyn squirmed, "Connie dear, I think you should wait till you're a little more experienced before you go playing around with dead Egyptians... they're quite powerful."

Ardeth nodded, looking to Connie with all seriousness in his eyes. "She is right, Miss Adams. The spirits and powers in this land can be unpredictable at best."

"Other times they can be downright deadly," muttered Rick, entwining his arm around Evelyn and holding her close.

Constance felt a pang as the couple in front of her went quiet. There was a haunted darkness in their eyes, one that Jonathan, Alex and Ardeth shared. It was deep in Evelyn's eyes, as if it hit her in some way that went right to her core. Evelyn looked up to Connie, a soft fear in her features, her hands gripping Rick's arms wound around her.

Brown... such endless brown with the shock of kohl around the edges. Constance gulped, looking away, cold shocking chills fluttering through her, a tightness in her stomach and what could only be described as a deep molecule-rattling pull in her very cells, in her bones, in her shoulders and palms that made her feel like she had a touch of vertigo. She blinked, looking away, wrapping her arms about herself if not a little shakily.

"All right," Constance breathed, "I'll wait. Till I'm stronger."

She could feel the peals of relief falling from Evelyn, and there was the warmth of a slender but large hand on Constance's shoulder.

"You've decided wisely," came the velvety voice of the Medjai next to her. "In your patience you have made the next step on the spiritual path you have begun to follow."

Constance looked back to him, nodding slightly. "Thank you."

Spiritual path... for some reason it didn't matter. She felt incredibly let down. Always in her life she felt lost, unaccustomed to things about her, always trying to find a state of equilibrium. All she ever found was fleeting enjoyment and brief understanding. Upon seeing those sand dunes in the subdued and warm dawn light and the yawning sensation of comfort that filled her at the sight of it, she felt as if she'd found something special, something welcoming. It was almost as if she'd found her home. At that point the spidery tendrils of her nerves were set tingling, and something very familiar encompassed her. Slowly, it abated; drawing away like the tide, but a shadow of it was always there, haunting her. Instinctively she knew that whatever she needed to discover with her new found mysticism, it was here in Egypt. Forbidding herself from stretching her spiritual legs seemed a crime to her in some way, as if she were losing an important opportunity of some sort, and that Egypt was the key to her new life path.

Path or no, she'd said she'd wait. And that she would.

* * *

Evelyn took station at the prow of the dirigible, gazing out at the terrain below her with a crease of worry in her brow. A distinct sense of deja-vu was washing over her, and she found herself wondering why - why was she doing this again? She was being careful this time, she told herself. She was going to read things before she opened them, and if she opened them (things that were dark looking books at least) then she'd mentally read them, and not out aloud. She wished she could have left Alex at home, but he really wouldn't stand for it. The boy was as stubborn as his mother and father put together. Warm hands enclosed the rounds of her shoulders, and when the soft touch of a kiss landed on her cheek, Evelyn leant back, sighing softly.

"Alex is asleep," Rick said softly.

"What about Connie?"

"Ehhh," Rick looked back, "She's talking to Ardeth and valiantly trying not to sleep I think."

"Why?"

"Said something about the floor being dirty."

"It's probably her fear of heights," nodded Evy.

"She's scared of heights? She's in a dirigible, honey," Rick said, "Shouldn't she be terrified?"

"Well no," Evelyn said. "She's fine in planes and on platforms she just doesn't like there being gaps in the things she's standing on, like grating on walkways and plank staircases and so forth."

"Right..." Rick wrapped his arms around Evelyn, leaning his lips against her ear. "So how are you anyway?"

Evelyn sighed. "Feeling a bit nervous, actually."

Rick's brows rose. "Pre-discovery jitters?"

"No, just jitters," Evy said, gripping Rick's arms. "I just have to wonder sometimes about my own presumptuousness, barging into temples and catacombs, reading this and taking that as if it never belonged to anybody."

Rick leant his face against hers. "Well... it's what Egyptologists do isn't it?"

"Yes but," Evy pressed her lips together with a growl, "Is it right? I mean - I have no doubt in the world now that whenever I dig up something, there's somebody that's dead that bloody knows about it."

"Well... perhaps Connie's right. Perhaps her arrival is kinda fortuitous."

"Uuhhh," Evelyn groaned, "I'm scared for her Rick. She's so - so optimistic, so naive. She has no idea what we went through - I mean she knows but she never felt it and I don't want her having to live with the memories we have."

"See that's the thing dear," Rick said, "You didn't exactly tell her everything, did you?"

She sighed. "No, I didn't."

"Why not?"

Evelyn wound about in Rick's arms, looking up to his warm blue eyes that glinted with something deeper than concern or worry.

"I have a feeling, Rick, that that dream she had - it's something more than her mind finding metaphors for her visit here. Something about what she said is very familiar and I - I feel like whatever is behind her dream - " Evelyn gulped. "It's not good, and it's not beneficial. When I think about her dream - I feel a hell of a lot of pain."

Rick looked over her features, touched with sadness, and he ran a fingertip down her jaw.

"I feel like I did when I remembered what happened to me... to Seti. I don't like that feeling Rick."

Nodding, Rick pulled her into a tighter embrace. "Then don't remember."

* * *

"You must sleep, Miss Adams."

Constance wrapped her arms about herself, hugging the blanket she wore around her shoulders tighter, gazing out at the twinkling sky about her. "I shan't."

"You must."

Jonathan, a heap of blankets on the floor, just groaned. "Will you two please argue a little more quietly? I'm trying to get some kip."

Ardeth just sighed, and looked to Constance again. "I can see you are tired."

"Yes, Mr. Bay, I am tired. I simply cannot sleep." She shook her head, eyes fluttering shut. "I cannot."

"Is it the height that frightens you?"

Constance glared at him, shuddering a little. "How on earth-"

Ardeth shrugged, pointing at the planks beneath their feet. "You keep looking nervously at the gaps in the floor."

Damn him for being so perceptive. He was a man; he wasn't supposed to notice things like that. And what was he doing taking so much notice of the way she behaved anyway? She glanced to him. He was fiddling with the black strips of fabric he had wrapped around his hands, covering his palms and the backs of them up to the base of his fingers. She'd seen him wear them the whole time she'd known him. Anyway - her brain was drifting off the more important subject - she was tired. Deadly tired, and fear was shaking any sense of security from her. It was only as she was about to lie down to rest that she noticed them - the holes in the floor. It wasn't so bad, but they were as wide as her finger, and looking through it, she could see the space below deck, and the light of the sands reflecting the moon winking at her through more cracks underneath. Obviously all these holes were the reason why the boat was now a dirigible. It was enough of a thought to dislodge her faith in the vessel, and to put it simply, she was terrified of it. Not that she wanted anyone to know.

She sighed, the quiet snoring of Jonathan and the louder of Izzy's creating a strange aural backdrop for the moment. Ardeth sat there, looking at a loss himself. His hand sat at the point on his chest where the papoose cradling his new bird should have been. She swallowed, meeting Ardeth's eyes finally.

"I can't bear to sleep on the floor. I just can't relax."

Ardeth nodded. "I am unused to being without Ra. I doubt sleep will come to me easily tonight."

Connie smiled slightly. "That's blatantly clear."

The desert warrior returned her smile with a touch of sheepishness, leaning against the inside of the boat. "Sit up against the side here," he said, "Perhaps you can get some sleep that way."

Connie shifted up a little closer to Ardeth, leaning against the wall of the boat, covering herself in the blanket.

"It doesn't matter," she said softly, settling down, "I hate this stupid boat so much I shan't get any sleep at all."

* * *

_Dark hands gripped her upper arms, and she glanced down. Deeply coloured tattoos - those hands again. With the pointed pronged 'E's on them. Something about one of the hands was familiar... too familiar. She went to look up at the man beside her, but her gaze was pulled forward by a firm, weighted voice._

_"Ramla..."_

_Ramla? What did that mean? Was it some Egyptian word? He spoke further in the Egyptian tongue, and she only barely understood him. Something about her dreaming, about her plotting. Plotting? When did she ever plot? She was the kind of person that never plotted. She drifted aimlessly. There was a strong-featured man with a strange crown - the King, and the young woman on the other side of him - his daughter?_

_Evy... It was Evelyn. Perhaps Evy wanted something special for her... She heard a word that made her head snap back to the man. It wasn't a word - it was a name._

_Seti. This was Seti... he said Seti. There was a shockingly beautiful woman on the other side of Seti, slender and dark with eyes of liquid obsidian, and a bald, astonishingly handsome man flanked her, hairless bronzed chest gleaming. This was all so very confusing._

_Evelyn was crying now. One of the hands on her own arms keeping her still - it was trembling badly. She tried to look at the person that owned it, but of a sudden her head was thrust down by the other guard's hand, shoving her to the floor._

_A voice breathed another Egyptian word, but she knew what it meant, there was no confusion here. "Nei..."_

_The king seemed to say something about it being necessary. She heard the run of metal against its wood-lined sheath, and in the shadow of the men behind her on the floor she could see it ... one of the men had raised his sword high._

_Then that word was spoken again. "Ramla..."_

_The voice was painfully familiar. She knew that voice. The very tone wept of remorse, of pain, of a well of tenderness untouched. The shadow of the sword came down, she heard some gasping..._

_Then she felt nothing._

"Nyeaaah!" She bolted upright, clutching her chest, a great heaving gasping cry falling from her. She gulped down air, trying to control the trembling in her body, the tears in her eyes. Her fingers shook and shuddered, unable to keep them still, sweat breaking on her forehead and chest. Breath, she tried to breathe, not deeply, not fast - slow... slow...

Death.

That's all that could fill her mind. That damnable blackness engulfed her, the terrible ring of the blade filled her ears, and a sob crept up her throat, confusion and heartbreak seizing her. There was only one feeling she could get a hold of, one thought, one transient moment of existence that defined the entire scene that had played in her mind... 'What did I do wrong?'

She let a sob take her, letting the gripping fear within her flow from her chest, embracing herself in the darkness of night. For some awful reason, the image of Rick embracing Evelyn flashed through her mind, as if to taunt her somehow. She could hear her own voice in her mind say, "It's so lonely being what I am, Evelyn." It didn't matter what she was or whether she was lonely or not. Not now. The terror of her dream was all the same, and her innocent vision had turned dark. She had no idea what to make of it. Would Egypt kill her? Did it want her to leave? Was Evelyn right about her playing with the spirits?

A deep feeling of despair welled up inside of her as she felt the enthusiasm for her new life path slowly crumble before her. There would be no wild mystical Egypt for her, no séances with the forerunners of Spiritism and the greatest mediums in the world. Just a haunting vision of a land that denied her.

Warmth was at her back, and without thought she leaned into it, tears spilling down her cheeks. The warmth changed - back... arm... She turned and saw - her breath caught. In the dark of the night she saw his usually warm coffee tones in a subdued grey, but the keen glint of his eyes was still there, the curve of his lip that somehow meant he was worried. His head was bare of his turban, and his dark midnight hair tumbled down the majestic cheekbones and jaw that set him apart from those around him with some regal bearing. Some longing within her was stronger than thought, stronger than feeling. Like a collapsing house of cards she fell against him, burying her face into his shoulder, sobbing endlessly.

He paused, uncertain of what to do, and his hand hovered over her soft blonde hair with some hesitation before curling around the curve of her head, running down the silky tresses lightly.

"Connie..."

She glanced up to him, clutching the front of his robes. The... the way he said it - his voice. She felt her throat tighten, and she searched his features in the bluish tinge of moonlight. His voice... it called to something, something within her. His eyes searched hers in return, just for a clue as to what could have scared her so.

She said nothing, laying her head against his shoulder again, his hand stroking her hair once more. In the softness of his robes and his deep scent of fine oils, she found comfort and she held onto that comfort. The comfort gave her the tiniest morsel of security, and with that she felt safe enough to drift off back to sleep.


	8. Spirit Disrupted

**Chapter Eight**

Jonathan tipped his head, a quiet thoughtfulness to his features. Alex glanced at him, looking equally thoughtful.

"How long do you think they're going to be like that?" asked the boy.

Jonathan shrugged. "Dunno, sport. As long as they're tired I suppose. They were up quite late last night." Alex looked at his uncle quietly, and Jonathan gasped. "Take that look off your face - you're only nine years old!"

Alex lifted his hands in innocence, "I wasn't looking like anything, Uncle Jon!"

Jonathan gave a huff of a laugh and shook his head. Evelyn emerged from the other side of the steering house of the dirigible, stretching her arms whilst finishing off a yawn. She spotted Jonathan and Alex's rapt gaze.

"Well - what's got you two so enthralled then?"

Jonathan pointed across from him wordlessly, and Evelyn followed.

Against the wall of the boat and the front of the steering house leant the sleeping form of Ardeth, his face pressed against the wood next to him. This, in and of itself, wasn't so amusing. Sure, sleeping Medjai's and their propensity to drool were often great entertainment value, but what was really worthy of observation was the very comfortable looking Constance Adams cuddled against his chest. Her arms were draped over his hips, her face nestled in the nape of his neck, Ardeth's arm over her back in some subconscious protectiveness, a trait that was one of the strongest things about the man. She swallowed a smile, covering her mouth with a hand.

Evy muttered very quietly, "Where's that box brownie?"

Alex giggled. "We could hold the negatives for ransom!"

"Now, we shouldn't make fun," Evelyn said, patting Alex on his sandy-haired head.

"Why?" Jonathan said, squinting at Evelyn in the morning sun, "I made fun of you and Rick."

"Yes but Ardeth isn't as immune from embarrassment as Rick, and neither is Connie for that matter so scoot! The both of you!"

Uncle and nephew exchanged heavy glances before letting themselves be herded off by Evelyn.

* * *

Ardeth Bay felt a weight against him. He couldn't move. There had been days where he'd woken up like this, where he woke up and couldn't move, but it often accompanied a lot of burning pain and a terrible wound of some kind. He knew he had neither because Evelyn had been in Hamunaptra reading perfectly safe books and cataloguing perfectly safe pottery and artifacts and writing perfectly safe papers on old Egyptian religion. So why he couldn't move puzzled him. Till he took a long breath in to yawn. Flowers. Nice flowers - rosy flowers. He hadn't smelt roses for a very long time, not since his trip to England where they were all through the O'Connell's gardens. England... something about that stuck in Ardeth's mind. He shifted his hand a little, and there was a soft sigh. He knew he didn't sigh like that. The sigh was definitely not his sigh, and whatever his hand lay against, it was round and firm and rather delightful - _Dear Allah..._

His eyes shot open and his body stiffened, shock bursting through him as he saw who was currently using him as a pillow. This didn't bother him, no, it was rather the inappropriate place his hand was located at that worried him, and for some reason his body decided to freeze and to not move in the shock. It's not that Medjai didn't enjoy the company of women, but there were customs and traditions and things to do before you got to the good bit, the feeling bit, the bit Ardeth was at that moment accidentally in the middle of. Tensely, very tensely, he shifted his hand away, and leant it, somewhat shakily, on the edge of the dirigible next to him. He had the opportunity to calm down now, to remember exactly why Miss Adams was laying against him looking so very comfortable. Nightmare, she'd had a nightmare. That fear in her eyes gripped Ardeth and he wasn't sure why. It was very familiar to him, and moreover it was very, very real. People didn't have that look in their eyes, that terror in their bodies and only have bad dreams about spiders. Rick had told him once that before Evelyn discovered the Bracelet of Anubis, she was prone to the odd nightmare that woke her in the night. It always bothered Rick, and he often wondered what she dreamed about. Evelyn said she never remembered.

He wondered if Miss Adams could remember.

The woman shifted, moving her weight, sliding her arm up and draping her hand over his opposite shoulder. She turned her head, her face leaning towards his now, and he could see her clearly. Fine red lines of his robe traced her cheek, but apart from this slight and temporary marring of her features, she seemed content, secure. Her blonde hair, golden and in loose curls, framed her face, tumbling and silky around her. It was a tad mussed, and very carefully, Ardeth pulled a tress from her brow to behind her ear.

He stilled. It was soft, so soft, incredibly fine, delicate. He'd only seen hair like this on movie posters and on actresses in the cigarette cards. Rarely did he see it in reality, in full colour, in smell and touch. Guilt played through him, for enjoying it so when she was not conscious. He would have to do something to make up for his misdemeanor. For now, Constance slumbered on, the morning sunlight reflecting off the side of the dirigible and lighting her face gently.

* * *

Connie felt comfortable. Very comfortable. Whatever she was laying on this morning (it changed from day to day recently), it was warm and soft and firm at the same time. It smelt lovely, strongly perfumed but not a flowery kind of perfume. It was robust, a distinct woody smell to it... masculine. Something in the back of Constance's mind caught onto that... masculine. Masculine? It was a very familiar smell. Oh well, it didn't matter, she liked it and she was comfortable. She had to get a dirigible bed or mattress or whatever she was sleeping on for her university house back at home, yes most certainly. Constance took a waking breath in, frowning and shaking the tiredness from her by stretching langourously whilst sitting up. These dirigible beds were warm, too - very warm. Except... there was no such thing as dirigible beds. Her body lay back against whatever she was sleeping on, (It certainly wasn't the floor - bugger that for a joke) and thought perhaps Mr. Izzy had arranged something for her. Flumping her arms down roughly there was a slight 'Ooph'.

Ooph? Beds, hammocks nor mattresses go 'ooph'.

Masculine!

Her eyes looked slowly down at her hands. They lay against another set of hands. A set of hands wrapped in black fabric to protect against - well all sorts of _desert _things. Her gaze crept up the hand, up the arm, then behind her. Large, worried brown eyes greeted her as she met the features of the harried Medjai, and with a strangled yelp she jumped up to her feet.

"Mr. Bay!" she gasped, clutching herself, "What am - how did - what do you think you're-"

"Please, Miss Adams-"

She cocked her brows at him wildly, glaring. "Yes?"

He sighed, sitting up, somewhat stiffly from being in the one position all night. "You had a bad dream, and you sought comfort from me. There were no ulterior motives in this, I promise you."

Constance frowned, arms dropping, her mind scouring the night before. Of course... the... Her legs gave way and she staggered, gripping the side of the boat as she felt a wave of nausea hit her. Ardeth raced over to her side.

"The dream," she muttered, cradling her head. "Dear God... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Ardeth shook his head, his hand on her shoulder. "It is all right. You have nothing to be sorry for."

She shook her head back at him, eyes glistening with something akin to despair. "I - I shouldn't have yelled I - Oh dear." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think, trying to calm her spinning soul. It ripped her apart, the feelings the dream conjured up. Oh it was more than a dream. Dreams ended, dreams finished at the point of waking. This was something that haunted her, wrecked her, yanked and ripped at her soul. She looked to Ardeth again, licking her lips to staunch the nausea she felt. "Thank you, Mr. Bay, thank you. You didn't have to - well - thank you." Ardeth squeezed her shoulder slightly, and with a short but weary smile, Constance glanced to him. "Yes... yes well - perhaps I think - I think I need a little while alone now, to think."

Ardeth nodded. "As you wish."

* * *

Connie didn't feel like breakfast. She didn't feel like much at all. She spent her time at the prow of the converted river-barge, gripping the railing and gazing down at the dunes and rocky terrain rolling away underneath her. Jonathan sat at the pews at the wheel-house, watching her quietly, eating his breakfast of cheese and Turkish bread, Ardeth beside him looking equally troubled as the girl at the front of the ship. Alex was content with picking apart an old piece of paper he'd found in his pocket and throwing the little bits from the edge of the ship, watching them flutter away to nothing below. Rick frowned at him, shaking his head, and the boy shoved the paper back in his pocket. Evelyn was nowhere to be seen, and when she appeared from the other side of the wheel-house, she was holding small tin cups filled with water.

"Water anyone?"

Rick shook his head, as did Ardeth, but Jonathan accepted with a "Thanks Old Mum," Alex with a similar sentiment. She sat down next to Rick, leaning against him with a frown.

"Is she still not eating?"

"Not eating, not talking," Rick said, leaning on a propped arm.

"Not doing much of anything except stare at the ground," Jonathan added.

Looking to the remaining cup of water, Evy nodded and went to the prow. Her friend didn't look at her, didn't even seem to notice her arrival. "Water?"

Connie's eyes fell to the tin cup and she blinked. She hadn't asked for any, but looking at the clear liquid quivering slightly in the shiny cup, she felt her mouth dry and ache. Nodding faintly, she reached for the water. "Thank you."

"It's nothing," said Evy. She looked to the dunes stretch out beneath them, worrying at the silence that seemed to fill their conversation. "You know, no matter how many times I see it, Egypt just looks more and more beautiful to me."

Connie felt her heart seize up, the adoration and awe in her friend's voice for the country beneath her twisting her from the inside. She winced, looking away, trying not to cry, not to let her tears show. She felt Evy's hands on her back, and she pressed her lips together, containing a sob.

"Connie, whatever's the matter girl?" When Connie shook her head, Evy squeezed her shoulder gently, "Come on, you can tell me. You can tell me anything, you know that?"

Connie nodded, covering her mouth, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Well what is it?"

She sighed, looking out to the sand below, trying to reign in the sick welling grief that had been drowning her since she woke. "I had the dream again, Evelyn."

Those simple words chilled Evy, making her tense, and she tried not to let her fear show on her features. "The same dream upset you?"

"Not the same dream. The dream happened in the same place, but it was longer," she breathed softly, gripping the bow. Her clear blue eyes looked up to that of Evy's. "You were there. You looked so sad. I didn't notice before... I think you were crying." She gulped, and looked back out to the scenery around her. "Seti... the king was Seti. And he spoke to me... he said something about Ramla... that word over and over... Ramla... and these hands were gripping my arms... they were dark, tattooed. I remember the Pharaoh, he said I'd been plotting. Plotting against him. Threats against the king." Connie looked to Evy with glassy eyes. "How ridiculous, I thought. How silly. I didn't even know the man. You cried even more then, and I was shoved down, down to the ground. Someone said that word again... Ramla. They sounded so sad..." Constance's voice was almost a breath then. "His voice was - it broke my heart, Evy. I keep hearing it, again and again." She swallowed, looking to Evy very calmly, almost dour. "Then I saw on the ground a shadow. The man that said my name... I didn't see his face, only his hands. But I saw his shadow, and it raised a sword." She bit her lip lightly. "Then he chopped my bloody head off!"

Evy jumped a little, covering her mouth, startled. "Connie-"

"It wasn't just a dream, Evy, it was a nightmare," she said, voice broken with emotion, "And it's been haunting me all bloody morning. I've been going over and over it, trying to find the meaning, but I don't like any of the meanings I get. Get out of Egypt - that's what I keep getting, Evy! Get out. You're not wanted here."

Evy shook her head wildly, wrapping an arm across her friend's shoulders tightly. "No, Connie, no! We all want you here!"

"I'm not talking about you," Connie said. "I'm talking about the spirits here, here in Egypt."

"You can't know that," said her friend, "You simply don't know. Maybe you were right, maybe there's a reason you should be here... I don't know."

Connie saw the hope, the softness in her friend's eyes, and the regret of her caution. She had been cautious though, and Connie knew all too well now that there had to be a reason for this, a motivation. After hearing her story of risen corpses and curses, it was obvious, all very obvious that she would be only a victim here to be preyed upon, defenseless and open to exploitation. She gulped, looking to Evy. "I decided you were right, Evy. I shan't do any channelling here in Egypt. I shall visit you, spend my six weeks here and go home. I'm not going to do anything that might harm anyone."

"If - if that's what you want," Evy said, worry deep in her eyes, "If that's what you think is best. I mean, we must all heed caution, mustn't we?"

Connie met her eyes. There was no humour or jocularity there. Nodding, she looked back out onto the dunes, tears in her light blue eyes.


	9. Tattoo Discovered

**Chapter Nine**

The sudden change in Constance Adam's mood affected everyone on the dirigible. Even Izzy seemed to be less than the boisterous man they all knew him as. Today would be the day that they would arrive at Amarna, but Evy's previous excitement was very missing. She sat with her husband and her child, wringing her hands together, a frown on her usually light features.

"Did she tell you what was wrong?" asked Rick.

"Uhm," Evelyn glanced up, a faraway look in her eyes. "Yes. She had that dream again, that's all."

"Sure," Rick said, hand on her shoulder, "That dream that happened to contain information she is supposed to have no idea about. You never told her about your visions, did you?"

"No," said Evy. "No."

"Right. She didn't know about our adventures, and she comes up with a dream like that. Fifteen years ago I would-ah said 'hooey' but this is much too weird for me to be comfortable with."

The sounds of Alex chattering away to Izzy in the wheelhouse filled the silence, and Ardeth was with him, making sure he didn't play too close to the edge of the dirigible. Evy sighed, holding her face in her hands.

"What do you want me to do? Tell Izzy _not_ to go to El Amarna?"

Rick eyed her steadily.

"Oh come on," Evelyn sighed, "Father discovered Tutankhamen, that wasn't so bad. No walking mummies, no evil witches out for blood."

"No," Rick said, shrugging lightly, "Just a few people dropping dead here and there and some bad luck."

Evelyn scowled, "That's not helping me Rick."

"Darling, I'm just telling it how it is."

His wife nodded, sinking her head into her folded arms, gazing at her friend still at the prow. "You should have seen the look in her eyes, when she told me about it," she said, "The dream. I've never seen her look like that, Rick. Not even when she talked about her parents dying when she was small."

With a purse of his full lips, Rick wound an arm around Evy. "Don't worry. The guys and I will help take care of her."

* * *

Time: 2:30 pm  
Date: November 16th, 1934

_Had that bad dream last night. The ones with the Egyptians. Am nearly at Amarna. Am afraid. Will be back at Hamunaptra in a few days. Note to self: Write to Aunt Lila. She will be worried sick about you. _

_--Connie._

_

* * *

_

"Come on fellas!" cried Izzy, clinging perilously to the wheelhouse and the balloon roping. "Help me get this rope back up!"

There had been a terrible snapping noise when it came loose, and since that the balloon had been rippling noisily from that one spot. Re-attaching the rope wasn't necessary, but the constant rippling of the material was enough to send someone mad. Rick got to his feet, Ardeth joining him. A fresh length of rope had been cut for the task of securing the balloon, and Izzy held onto one end. Rick held onto another.

Ardeth ran his black fabric strip wrapped hands together, waiting for a moment where he could help out. It came when Izzy began shouting a string of expletives at Rick O'Connell.

"O'Connell, did no one ever bloody teach you how to tie a knot?"

Ardeth looked up at Izzy, casting him a silent look of ill impress. Swearing in front of ladies wasn't something he particularly approved of.

"What kind of knot do you want then?"

"Oh for God's sakes!" Izzy motioned Ardeth over. "Get up 'ere and hold this for a moment will ya?"

Ardeth did as he was asked, climbing the wheelhouse carefully and holding onto the rope. It was already tied, but he was needed to keep it from tangling with the other ropes, and to keep it nice and taut. He waited patiently as Rick and Izzy squabbled... well Izzy squabbled, Rick put a hand on a cocked hip and nodded, appeasing the louder man's ills in the process. His vantage point gave him an unwittingly perfect view of Constance. She was leaning on the rails of the prow, looking down the side of the ship, presumable watching the lighter ropes slap against the hull. She looked so sad. Something about her melancholy air pulled down his heart, bringing worry to it and making his mind wander.

"TAUT!" cried Izzy, "Keep it TAUT I said!"

Constance turned, hearing the outburst, then glanced up to Ardeth. She gazed at him, light blue eyes holding his effortlessly. He felt pinned down by that stare, powerless, and he gripped the rope in his hands, holding it up. She blinked slowly, looking away. Had she smiled, perhaps he would not have felt so silly standing there, but her placid yet tired expression seemed to tell him nothing of her thoughts.

"Yeah awright," called Izzy, "We're done!"

Thank the Gods, Ardeth thought darkly. He looked about himself and his perch that was the wheelhouse. Carefully, he gripped the roof of it, a metal reinforcement, and if he was careful he could get his foot down to the ledge...

His robe got in the way, somehow ending up underfoot and offering no purchase on the worn smooth wood. His boot slipped, and he grabbed for a hold of anything. His one hand gripped the metal reinforcement almost painfully, and as he slid down so his hand slid down the metal's sharp edge. He hissed as he toppled to the floor.

"Dear me!" gasped Evy, jumping to her feet, "Ardeth!"

Ardeth laid there, a little dazed, hearing footsteps pound the deck as they all ran to help him. One set was slower than the rest, and its owner gazed down at him with a soft frown.

Evelyn turned, seeing a worried looking Connie next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked back down to Ardeth. "Can you move?"

"I am fine," Ardeth said, pulling himself up to his feet. As he dusted his robe, heavy thick red drops splattered the deck. Alex shook his head.

"Then why are you bleeding?"

Ardeth looked to his hands, and one ached sharply. He held it up, red staining his fingers. "I must have cut it on the wheelhouse," he said. Such a stupid mistake really. He had been wearing his robes all his life, and had climbed plenty of times in them. Why he had slipped now of all moments...

"Come sit down," Evy said, leading him over to one of the pews. "There we go. It's probably just a little cut..."

Ardeth let the woman take his hands. She sighed, turning them over.

"You're going to have to take these wrappings off. You stay here; I'm going to get some bandages from the hold."

He nodded, curling his hands closed as his friend's wife moved off. He'd been so engrossed in berating himself for his clumsiness that he'd not noticed Constance next to him, frowning distantly at his hand. She glanced up to him.

"Does it hurt?"

He shook his head. "Not much."

She tilted her head, and gently, she slid a hand into his uninjured right one, squeezing it. She looked back up to him then, and smiled, very slightly.

The steady thumping of Evy's heels on the deck broke the gaze, and Ardeth looked up to the tending woman.

"Right," she said, kneeling in front of him and speaking to him as if he were her injured son, "Give us that hand there..." She frowned. "Ardeth, I thought I told you to take those smelly old wrappings off?"

Ardeth blushed unwittingly, beginning at the knots in the fabric. "I am sorry," he said, "I forgot."

Glancing to Connie next to him, she smiled. "That's all right. You need some help there?" She grabbed for the knot on his left hand, tugging and pulling at it deftly. "Well, they certainly taught you Medjai how to tie a good knot, didn't they?"

"I need it to stay on when I am riding," he said.

"Yes well you're not riding now are you?" she said. She gave one last tug, and the fabric came free. "Here we go. It's like unwrapping a Mummy!" Ardeth looked to her, not appreciating the joke. "Fine, don't laugh," sighed Evy. She hissed as the last of the wrapping came away and the cut was revealed. It was possibly one eighth of an inch deep, the edges ragged from a blunt slice. "Ooh, you stay still... I'll clean that bugger out."

Ardeth remembered his worrying about Izzy using foul language in front of the women, and amended that thought. He had momentarily forgotten he was travelling with Evelyn O'Connell. He squeezed a hand and hissed as pain stung him. He glared at what had caused him such agony. Evelyn was dabbing at the wound with a deep brown-red liquid, and his other hand was grasping onto Connie's tightly.

"Have I hurt you?" he asked her. She shook her head silently. He looked back to Evelyn. "What is that?"

"Iodine," said Evy. "To clean the wound and stop infection."

She pressed the stained swab of cotton to his skin and smiled. "Let's see if this hand is hurt anywhere else huh?" She turned the hand over, and there was an almighty crash. Evelyn glanced up, eyes wide in alarm, and she jumped to her feet.

Connie was staggering away, terror blazing in her eyes, her body visibly shuddering and shaking all over. She'd leapt up, jumped back, knocking over one of the pews in the process as she raced back to the prow of the dirigible. For a moment, Ardeth thought maybe he heard her sob softly. He got to his feet, stepped forward, but Connie shook more.

"No!" she cried, tears roughing her voice, "No!"

Evelyn raced to the woman's side, confusion on her face. "Connie!"

"It was him!" she sobbed, arms wrapped around herself, tears streaming down her features, "It was him!"

Ardeth felt a heaviness in him, and he was afraid... somehow, something within him knew what she was going to say. He knew that she was going to say something that would break his heart, that would give him a feeling of utter grief like none he'd known.

"He did it!" she said, her shuddering creating a waver in her voice, "He killed me!"

Evelyn frowned, bewildered. "Connie! Calm down!" Connie refused to be calm. It was as if she were more an animal terrified than a human. "What makes you think he killed you?"

It was all nonsense to Ardeth. Him? Kill? Perhaps this had something to do with the dream the O'Connells had mentioned briefly.

She pointed to Ardeth with a trembling finger, and following it Evelyn's gaze was led directly to the tattoo on the top of the warrior's hand. It was dark, almost black, and it was like the letter 'E', the prongs pointed and consecutively longer and slender.

"It was his voice that said the word," she said, "It - it was him that brought the sword down!"

After a quiet moment, Connie fell to Evelyn's shoulder, sobbing softly. Ardeth felt strangely numb, and he turned away, no words on his tongue, just that grief he'd feared hanging in his heart.

* * *

Evelyn didn't know what to do. Connie had taken a nap, leaning against Jonathan for security in her vertigo problems. Jonathan had shrugged sadly at Ardeth, knowing how long it had taken to calm Connie down and how she wouldn't even look at the Medjai warrior now. It seemed to be an instinctual reaction, something so deep and primal that it dominated her every thought and behaviour. Evelyn kept an eye on Ardeth also. He gazed moodily over the edge of the dirigible, a definite pout in his lips and a distracted air to him.

Through all of this, the word 'Ramla' echoed in her mind. There was something very familiar about it, something that brought about an ache, a great grieving. Strangely, it also brought great affection, but maybe that was a mingling worry for her dearest of friends.

The warm touch of her husband's hands wound around her waist, and Evy turned to look at him.

"You okay?" he asked her, tilting up his brows. His wife leant against him, leaning her head back on his chest, hands clasping the prow of the vessel and sighing.

"I'm fine," she said. "It's Connie and Ardeth I'm worried about."

Rick turned his head and glanced at the Medjai a moment, then back to his wife. "Ardeth?"

Evy looked to Rick and gave an exasperated huff. "Rick, don't tell me you haven't noticed?"

Rick just gave her a dull look. "Noticed what?"

"Oh for goodness sakes!" Evelyn smiled wearily, "You don't think that Ardeth is that upset over missing his bird still, do you?"

"Oh," Rick looked back, "I was figuring it was hurt pride or something." Rick twitched his lips meekly, looking a little embarrassed. Evelyn gave a worn smile and stroked his arms around her. Her husband was brave, a fantastic father, a talented explorer, and quite the strategic thinker, but obviously when it came to human relations he was as thick as two wet planks laid end on end. "So you think he uh... you know... Connie, um..."

"Yes, dear," Evelyn said, her brows knitted together. "It's best for you to keep being vague and pretend you never noticed for now."

Rick frowned. "No need to be insulting."

"Why? What happened to your sense of humour?" she quipped, smiling at Rick and kissing him briefly. This seemed to placate the man, and he hugged her a little tighter. The humour waned, the sadness of the vessel seeping in around her once more. The dream, its description, felt all too familiar. If only she could fall into one of her trances, to check back through her old memories and make sure... make _sure_ that Seti had never executed a servant for conspiring against him, during the years of Nefertiri's youthful adulthood. Trance... trance? Psychic mediums supposedly went into trances... She glanced back to Connie sleeping soundly in Jonathan's lap.

"Evy?"

"Rick, I have to try to remember, I have to know."

"Know what?" He gazed in her eyes for a moment and it became all too clear. "Hon, are you sure you want to go delving into those memories?"

"You heard her dream," Evy said. "She obviously had no idea Medjai had those tattoos on their hands. And she _didn't_ know about my visions, yet she described them exactly. She even mentioned Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun - prior to my telling of the rising mummies. What does that tell you, Rick?"

Rick shifted uncomfortably. "I don't want to think about what it tells me," he said. "I've had enough of thinking about the Ancient Egyptian courts altogether, in fact."

"It's all linked," Evy said softly, her eyes wide in wonder. "Me, Connie, Ardeth... even you! I bet you if I thought back, you'll be there somewhere!"

Rick didn't say anything. He leant his face against her hair, not wanting to hear about this anymore. It had brought him enough pain. So he was supposedly a Medjai - he wasn't even Egyptian or Arabian damn it! All he did was get orphaned in the wrong place at the wrong time and had a stupid tattoo slapped on his hand because he happened to be good at bashing the crap out of other people and had brains as well. Okay, so he had an uncanny ability for getting around ancient tombs, but he didn't want to entertain any grand notions because of that fact. Evy stood in his arms quietly, her eyes gleaming with that spark of inspiration, that he knew meant her mind was spinning with possibilities and extremes. The woman, despite her experiences, was insatiably curious, and that scared him more than anything else he could think of. He glanced back to the other passengers in the dirigible - to his son Alex in particular. The boy was sitting next to his uncle, fiddling with his slingshot. He was bigger, bigger than he used to be. This fact made him happy, and hopefully he'd grow strong and safe, despite his mother's dangerous choice in career.

Sometimes he thought it was his life purpose, to make sure that this happened. Other times he knew it was, with no doubt in his mind at all.


	10. A Glimpse of the Past

**Chapter Ten**

It was later in the day when Connie woke, and Izzy had the map out, navigating more carefully now as they made their last approach to Amarna. When she sat up, yawning, she noticed that Ardeth was strangely missing. It was a small dirigible, so the fact she couldn't see him meant he either jumped off the side or found a hiding place. Jonathan must have noticed her looking around in loss, because he said:

"He's astern," and pointed in that vague direction.

"Oh." Connie looked to her feet, eyes slightly glazed over. Gathering herself she glanced up to Jonathan, straightening up and lifting her nose with indignance. "Good for him." She nearly jumped when a set of hands touched her shoulders.

"Connie," Evy said, sitting down next to her. "How are you fairing now?"

Connie's eyelids wavered slightly and she pursed her lips. "I'm fine. I was always fine. Just the vertigo getting to me, that's all."

"Right." Evy cocked a brow slightly, then nodded. "Can I talk to you over here a moment?" Evy stood, stepping towards the prow.

Constance sighed, following her best friend mutely. Upon reaching the railings, Evy took Connie's hands, meeting her eyes with a measured frown.

"Connie, I know I said that I didn't want you doing anything... well... spiritual whilst you were here in Egypt..."

Constance felt a glower of strain fall over her features and she stepped back. "You were right, Evelyn. I'm not even going to try it-"

"No, I suppose you wouldn't want to," Evy said, placing her hands together and touching her fingertips to her lips. "That's why I want you to teach _me_ how to go into a trance state."

Connie double took at her best friend, gripping the bow and glaring at her. She must have been dreaming, or Evelyn had lost her faculties. "What!"

"I've fallen into them accidentally before," she said, "I - I wanted to - that is I -" She pressed her lips together. "I want to do it again. I found it _very_ relaxing..." She raised her brows very slightly.

Connie felt that uncertainty wash over her and she sighed. "It's dangerous if you don't know how to protect yourself. You could find yourself doing things that could hurt you or even someone else." Evelyn seemed to pale at this, and not in fear, but in knowing. She shrugged. "Sit down in a comfortable position then... I'll show you."

She sat down, pulling Evy down with her, and crossing her legs. "Sit up, make sure your airways are open and breathe in even, full breaths. Don't slow your breathing, or hasten it."

Evy nodded, doing as she said, her hands resting on her knees. "What now?"

"Shh," Connie said. She normally would have smiled, but smiles weren't in her. "Close your eyes. I want you to imagine a warm light around you. It encompasses you. It protects you." Her voice was slow, deep. "It is the light of God. Place your trust in it, and no harm shall befall you."

Evelyn's face became relaxed, her features softening, the rounds of her pupils slowing from their darting under the lids.

"Now I want you to feel yourself softly falling, with every breath counting down as you fall... from five to nothing. Five..."

Evelyn breathed.

"Four..."

Evelyn tilted her head back a little.

"Three..."

Evelyn twitched.

"Two..."

Evelyn's lips parted.

"One..."

She took a long breath in.

"Nothing..."

For Evelyn, the world fell down and vanished around her.

* * *

She could smell the oils of her father. It was a rich heady scent, thoroughly woven with that of finest musk and the sweetest frankincense. She turned her head to look at him, her heart breaking as she did so. He looked just like him. Just like him.

_Daddy..._

She could sense the cool regard of Anck-Su-Namun, and she tried to ignore the bristling of her skin. She looked very amused about something.

Looking ahead, she saw the Medjai guards lined up on either side of the walkway into the palace, looking ahead blankly, loyalty and purpose oozing from their very composure.

"Bring in the accused!" called out Seti, and she felt her heart seize. She turned her gaze back to the end of the large hall. The black marble and rosy red limestone around her gave the place a slightly salty, damp air. The weather was warm and balmy and she could almost feel the breeze from the Nile touching her skin. She gripped the seat underneath her, a gift from the Hellenic peoples from the north. The gilded arm rests stuck to her skin, and she felt tears in her eyes. Why was she crying?

From the end of the throne room there came the rhythmic flapping steps of leather sandals against marble. Shadows were long in the walkway beyond the door, and they shrank until their source came into view.

Blonde, pale, large eyes of fear and insecurity... it was her! Ramla - Ramla wasn't a word! It was a _name!_ The woman, the woman that would be Connie, that looked to her like Connie and moved like Connie, was garbed in a simple white dress, silver bedecking her. Silver?

_Not good enough for gold_, a thought flittered through her mind. She was pale and unhealthy looking, and the only magical thing about her was her long fine golden hair. It was cut severely, much like her own. Evy, Nefertiri, she could feel the scratching itch of the wig she wore against her shorn scalp, and a wash of envy flew through her. _I loved her hair_, she remembered, _I wished for hair so beautiful!_ The recollection came rushing back to her. Ramla - Connie - she belonged to her. She was a gift to her... mere property... She gulped. No, she'd been more than that to her.

Her eyes shifted to the men leading her in. Her throat grew tight, like her heart, her knuckles whitening on her chair. He was clean shaven, not a hair on his body, but his skin was the same coffee tone, his eyes full of gentleness and sadness. It was him! It was Ardeth! On a better look, she could see tears in his eyes, and his fingers around Ramla's light arms were not tight but firm, moving ever so slightly in a stolen touch. Ramla looked down to them, and she went to look up at him with her own sad broken gaze.

The loud clear voice of the Pharaoh stole her glance, and he spoke to her.

"Ramla, gift of the north, supposed seer and condemner of men..." He sighed dourly. "My trusted servants and soldiers have heard you utter words of treason. You spoke words that told of your will to see my death, and even insinuated my beloved Anck-Su-Namun and my favoured priest Imhotep in your ramblings!" He looked to his daughter for a moment, then back to Ramla. "Although you served my daughter well, and tried to conform to our proud and civilized ways, the ancient law you defiled with your words cannot be denied. Ramla, today you die at the hands of my bravest and most trusted of men. May Anubis guide you safely to your judgement."

Evy shook her head, gasped. No, this couldn't happen, it had to be a mistake - it _was_ a mistake!

"No," she mumbled, grasping her father's arm and shaking her head again.

Her father placed his hand on hers, his dark eyes regarding her gently. "I am sorry, beloved daughter. This must be done, as it always has been done. It is done to serve Egypt, for it is to protect me, and I am Egypt itself."

_He knew_, she thought. He knew Ramla was right. She'd seen the death of his second priest, and saw it in every detail. He thought killing her would kill his fate. Her eyes turned to her friend, the woman that had drawn her baths, served her faithfully, listened to her speak of her troubles, who she turned from a hairy smelly barbarian girl to a clean, immaculate citizen of Egypt.

The very girl tried to look at the guard that seemed to be Ardeth once more, but a hand guided her down before she could let her eyes meet with the Medjai. She looked to that hand, to the arm it led to, then the face.

Her breath hitched in her throat, her heart heaving again. His eyes were brown, his skin a deep coffee, his brows black and dark, but his soul was there, and his face was echoed in this man's appearance... Rick. The way he looked at her, the Princess, it shook her. Oh dear, something was going on there. She thought on it more and it was clear. He loved her. This guard loved her - he was _her_ guard, for _her_ room. Rick looked to Ardeth (damn it all she couldn't remember their old names!) and nodded slightly.

Tears spilled down Ardeth's face, and he reached for his scimitar. _Oh please_, she thought, _Oh please. You can't do this. You can't, not when you love her!_ The thought that replayed through her mind like an echo wracked her soul. He loved her.

The scimitar gleamed in the light, and clenching his eyes closed, his face glistening from his tears, he raised his arms. He breathed a word then, his voice almost breaking.

"Ramla..."

It was as if he had tried to pour every feeling he had and never got to say into one word, one sound, so that she'd know, if only for a moment. His only word to her, and it was a masked declaration of love.

The scimitar swept down, a flash of lethal blade, and the sickening slice of flesh echoed through the hall. At that very moment the guard froze, scimitar gripped in his hands tightly, his knuckles white, red vital blood staining his clothing. Evy felt herself leap up, throat roaring with pain as she cried out.

"No! No, no, no!" She fell down again, onto the ground, her body limp from the agony inside her. She sobbed, heavy sobs, and that firm voice spoke once more.

"Nefertiri... this is not the way for a future Queen to behave. Please rise, your brother Ramesses shall arrive soon from Nubia." Her father clapped his hands, and pointed to the body of Ramla, and spoke to his guards and executors. "Rashidi, Yafeu... clean up this mess."

A growl was in her chest and she sobbed again, letting out an aching cry...

* * *

Her eyes shot open, her whole body shaking as she practically threw herself out of the trance. Tears spilled down her face, and focusing on the girl in front of her a sob flew from her chest. "Oh God!" she wept, "Oh Connie!"

Connie nearly fell over as her best friend flung her arms around her, sobbing into her shoulder and hugging her tightly.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried, "I'm so sorry I didn't stop it!" She sniffled, cradling her face in her hands tenderly. "You were the only sister I'd ever known and I let him kill you! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She buried her face into Connie's shoulder again, holding her close, her tears soaking through her shirt.

"Evy," Connie breathed, "Evy what did you see?" Connie knew, instinctively she knew, and the words that her friend was babbling at her were ones that chilled her, because they indicated that there was something more to her dream that symbolism, more to this trance session that relaxation.

"You," she hiccupped. "Your dream." She sniffled, shaking her head. "Connie I'm sorry, I haven't told you everything, and I should have, but I was afraid and I didn't know why. I think I know now." The slow careful steps of Rick approached, and Evy glanced up to him before looking back to Connie. "I had visions, once, visions about Ancient Egypt..." She gulped and continued. "It turned out that they weren't just visions... they were memories. Memories of a life I lived thousands of years ago. I mean, it felt unreal, but it _was_ real and - and it was all true. Horribly true." Evy took her friend's hands in hers, tearful eyes gazing at them. "Remember when I told you about Imhotep and his second rising? The reincarnated Anck-Su-Namun was my enemy, Connie. She was my enemy because she killed my father, not George Carnahan, but... but Pharaoh Seti..."

Connie frowned, incomprehension gripping her as her best friend continued.

"I didn't believe any of this until I navigated my way around a tomb that hadn't been opened in three thousand years, knowing exactly where to go without seeing a map or reading any instructions. I knew because I had _been_ there." Her brows tilted as Connie drew her hands away from hers, tears in her best friend's eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she said softly, disbelief plaguing her. "You listened to me prattle about that dream, and you didn't tell me?"

Evy tilted her head. "I'm sorry, I am. I don't know _why_ I didn't tell you. It's only now in hindsight that - well I just can't stand it! I let you die! I should never have!" Tears welled up in her eyes again and she put her face in her hands. "Oh God..."

She was angry. That was the first emotion that she could get a hold of. The second one was hurt. Hurt that Evy, the woman she regarded as her own sister in spirit, couldn't trust her with information that was integral to who Evy was. Embarrassment was another, that she had gone about those dreams with her stupid Spiritism mumbo-jumbo. No wonder they looked so amused. The latest emotion to run through her was a numb sense of pain. It made her weary beyond any experience, and being angry at a woman who had no control over what had been, and who had faulted and knew it, seemed a waste of energy. She sighed, tears in her own eyes, placing her hand on Evelyn's shoulder.

"Don't ever lie to me again," she said, sniffling. "It's worse than anything you could have done to me before. I love you, Evy, so dearly. Don't lie to me again."

Evy nodded, wrapping her arms around Connie once more and hugging her for dear life. "I won't, I promise." She let her husband rub her back as she hugged Connie, relief falling through her as she felt the grief finally release itself inside her, to be felt and spent. "I'm sorry, I love you, I do."

The women sat there for some time, hugging each other, tears being shed and 'sorry's being exchanged. Rick sat by his wife's side, arm around her, listening as she told Connie everything she saw. Evelyn kept one secret from her, one secret that she knew had to be kept for Connie's own good.


	11. Carpet Landing

**Chapter Eleven**

Izzy turned the wheel furiously, working the dirigible in its last descent. Ardeth walked past him, the happy song from the dark man's whistling jarring with the trouble in his heart. He rounded the wheelhouse, and upon sitting at one of the crates a single name carried in the wind...

"...Ramla..."

He turned, startled, glaring at the prow of the dirigible. There sat Evelyn and Constance, Rick consoling his wife, both of the women looking grief-stricken. His mind whirled, wondering what could have happened whilst he had secluded himself, wondering if it was him they were so sad about. _He killed me_... the words pounded his soul. The name he'd caught was not unfamiliar. It was an echo in his mind that lasted so many years of his life, of a nightmare that he couldn't bear to think of.

He closed his eyes, fighting not to see it. Fighting not to see the fair hair cascade either side of the equally fair and silky neck, the blade in his hands falling against his heart's wishes, his soul crying out as it flew easily through the flesh and sent a spurt of fresh warm blood against his own body. During all of this, he could hear his mind repeat the name, over and over.

Ramla.

"Siddown folks!" cried Izzy, breaking Ardeth from his deep thought, "We're about to land!"

Ardeth didn't know what to do with himself and in a mad leap he sat down next to Alex, sighing fitfully. Alex glanced up to him, raising a brow in question, to which Ardeth replied with a worn frown.

Evy, Rick and Connie approached the wheelhouse, sitting around on the crates and holding onto the side of the ship as it swept down majestically.

"Let's hope this is a better landing than the last time," Rick quipped.

"Swear to God, O'Connell," Izzy said, "One more word from you and you'll get this steering wheel jammed fair up your arse."

Connie grappled the wood of the dirigible underneath her, clenching her eyes shut. Evy frowned.

"Connie?"

"Oh God I think I'm going to be sick..."

"No, no, no!" cried Izzy, "Not in my bloody dirigible you don't!"

"Oh shut up Izzy!" snapped Evy. She took Connie's hands, and as she did so Ardeth stepped forward without thinking, arms outstretched to help the nauseated woman.

"SIDDOWN!" Izzy yelped, piloting the ship with dedication. "Gawd help me! Do you WANT to fall out of this ship or what?"

Connie cowered from the worried Medjai, her eyes wide with alarm. He sank back, melancholy encompassing him again. The ship began to slow finally, and with a gentle pause, almost a sigh, it settled on the ground with a heavy thump. Connie glanced around her, and with a scrabbling stagger she made for the rope ladder, practically tumbling out of the vessel and racing into the dunes.

"What the hell is she doing?" Izzy said.

"Being sick!" Evy said, jumping up after her.

"She will get lost," Ardeth said, leaping to his feet also, "Do not let her run too far!"

Evy nodded, crawling down the side of the dirigible and following the pits Connie's steps had made in the sand.

Connie ran, and once over the first dune she collapsed to her knees, letting her stomach lurch and knot, retching as her breakfast came back up again. She coughed, spluttered, tears in her eyes. She hated heights, she hated heights. This thought became a mantra as she vomited, blaming the vertigo for the loss of her stomach contents and not the whirlwind of grief that had claimed her so suddenly. She sniffled, coughing the last of her retches away, cupping her hands and scooping the sand over her mess.

"Connie?"

She glanced back at Evelyn, then to the sand in front of her. "I'm sorry," she said, "I hope you can understand that I find this all a little bit overwhelming."

"I do," Evy said, sitting next to her. She sighed a little, stroking Connie's hair back from her face whilst the woman composed herself. "You know Ardeth is worried sick about you."

Connie glanced away, grabbing a handful of sand and watching it as it poured from her fingers in a silky trail back to the ground. "I can feel that hand, Evy, as it has hold of my arm and doesn't let me free. I can see its shadow, gripping that sword like it was the only thing that mattered."

Evy took Connie by the shoulders, meeting her eyes firmly. "I had that memory too, and I saw that hand shaking, Connie. I saw him crying. Right now he's over there, very confused because you're treating him like a monster."

"What am I supposed to do?" Connie sobbed suddenly, fear gripping her. "He frightens me! I can't see those awful tattoos without feeling what it was like to be pushed to the ground and killed like an errant farm animal!"

"Just..." Evelyn sighed. "Just look into his eyes, Connie. Know his heart."

For a reason she couldn't fathom, the very thought terrified her beyond reason. She didn't get to muse on it for very long, as swift steps trudged up the dune behind her, the unmistakable sound of robes fluttering in a breeze accompanying them. She embraced herself, closing her eyes, trying to calm herself as his voice hit her.

"_Elham leallah_," he breathed, slowing to a stop once he reached them. "Constance, you should never run blindly into the desert without knowing where you are," he said. "There are many dangers." The thought of her stumbling into quicksand gave him a cold chill, and the fact that she was sitting there perfectly safe gave him untold comfort.

Evy looked around herself, patting her knees. "Well - I better get Rick and Jonathan to unload the dirigible. You'll take care of Connie whilst I see to that, won't you Ardeth?"

Connie felt a sinking in her chest, and she stopped herself from glaring at Evelyn. _That sneak_, she thought, _that clever little sneak! _Evy patted the Medjai on the shoulder and then smiled at Connie before starting back for the dirigible.

Silence fell between the Medjai and the woman. Connie coughed, looking away, and she crawled along the dune very deliberately, away from Ardeth. He glanced to her, hurt in his eyes, and she could see it clearly. She pursed her lips.

"I was sick there," she said. "I doubt you'll want to accidentally step in it."

He looked down at the sand in front of him, and then to her, and nodded, following her. He sat down next to her, somewhat awkwardly. "I trust you are feeling better?"

She shrugged, sitting back down onto the dune, pulling a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Depends on your definition of better. If you mean better as in 'Do I feel as good as before this ride on the dirigible?' then no, I do not, Mr. Bay. However, if you mean, 'Do I feel better than I did during my mental breakdown?', then yes, I'm feeling slightly improved."

She saw him look down at his hand that was bare of any wrappings, a drawn sadness in his features, and she realised she may as well have kicked him in the head. He sighed, leaning his elbows on his knees, gazing out into the desert.

"I believe we need to talk," he said, "About Ramla."

Connie held in a whimper, looking away. She didn't want to talk about Ramla and she didn't want to talk to him. She was tired, emotionally drained, in a numbness that she couldn't shake. She sighed doggedly, meeting his eyes with her own half-lidded blue ones. "I don't want to talk about her, Ardeth. I just want to stop hurting, just for a moment."

Ardeth frowned, a thoughtfulness etched in his brow. "I wish this as much as you," he said, "But peace is never reached by evading the reason for our pains."

He watched her sag, her hair dangling down. When she'd first arrived here, there were curls in her hair, tight neat curls that sat in place. Her face had been lightly done with make-up, her lips a sweet ruby red. At that station she'd seemed in a bubble, unreachable, a vision of perfection in all her modern western glory. Now her clothes were thick with dust and grime, her hair soft and straight, her curls long lost from lack of styling. There was no make-up on her, but as she turned her face up from gazing down at the sand, a distant recognition burned within him.

_The light measured steps echoed in the hall, her feet shod in simple leather strands. The fabric that clothed her body was white and plain, the silver that adorned her skin uncomplicated. Her pale flaxen hair was cut severely in the style of the people she lived with now. She looked down at her feet as she walked, meek and homely. This once, this blessed once, she looked up to meet his gaze as she approached the doorway._

_Her blue eyes, like the sky, outlined in shocking black kohl, were as jewels. His heart knew she had no home, no security. She was a fragmented soul, reaching out roots so they would take hold here in Egypt._

_How he wished he could have helped her settle them. However, it was not his place. She was a servant, he was a Medjai. He opened the door, savouring the moment her eyes had met his, and moved through the motions that were his duty to his Pharaoh._

Eyes... blue eyes...

_Her head rolled away from her body, and as it did his victim's face was revealed to him... such clear blue eyes now dead. _

His breath hitched and he covered his face, feeling his body tremble uncontrollably. Merciful Allah... it was _her!_ It was Constance! He felt ill, truly ill, head spinning as he tried to consolidate his old childhood nightmares to the reality of the woman in front of him. _He killed me! _ She was right, she was right. He had killed her! He made efforts to focus his mind, to think that she was here now, alive now, next to him. That way lead madness... that way he wanted to embrace her, hold her close and thank the heavens she had been returned but - in all practicality she was only known to him a few days, and in those terrible visions she was known to him even more distantly. He had a sudden understanding of the woman in front of him, and her coolness, her efforts in sophistication and her pride in her modern ways... it was all so clear to him now.

"Your nightmare," he said, "Is my nightmare. I am very sorry, Miss Adams, that you have come to know it."

She frowned, lips pursed. "I don't… I don't understand…"

"I have known, since meeting them, that the O'Connell's history is entwined with the history of my people. We do not believe in reincarnation, but sometimes you must look at something and see it for what it is." Connie's frown hadn't lessened and she still looked confused. "I once had dreams, when I was very small. A nightmare. In my hands was a sword and at my feet the head of a beautiful woman."

"A nightmare," she echoed.

"My worst," he said. "I knew it would be a terrible day whenever I had it." She dared to look up at him, to meet his eyes, and as she did so a warm bittersweet ache splashed through her chest. Ardeth shook his head, his breath hitching as he spoke. "I did not want to kill you."

She closed her eyes, burying her face in her hands and sighing. She felt the threatening tears spill down her face, and a warm long hand curled around her shoulder. For a long moment she let herself weep, expressing the agony she'd pent up for the past hours, Ardeth's gentle touch consoling her. Through tearful eyes she looked at his hands. So slender and yet strong. They looked out of place, peeking from the dark silver-rimmed sleeves of the tall and wide-shouldered man before her, and yet, thinking of that pain he bore, of the way he was with Evy and her family, at what he dedicated his life to, they suddenly fell into context. Tentatively, she reached out for his uninjured right hand, sliding her fingers amongst his, lifting it up and gazing at the tattoo.

"I kept seeing this, your hand," she said, gazing at it closely, recovering from her tears. It was a little calloused from his hardened lifestyle, but it was mostly smooth, and it was warm. "The thing that kept clinging to my mind, though..." She glanced up to meet his brown pools, "Was your voice." She leant her cheek against his hand, running it against his flesh very briefly, her eyes closing only a moment. "It sounded as if... as if your soul was dying."

Tears rimmed his eyes, his heart sighing at the sound of her voice, at the words she spoke. He opened his mouth...

"Ardeth! Connie!"

Ardeth sprang to his feet, gazing beyond the dirigible. He motioned Connie to follow him and he ran down the dune towards the sound of Evelyn's call. "Follow me," he said. "Stay close."

Upon making their way around the dirigible they noticed that the ground dropped away. They had landed on a dune, and before them the sand had been blown away, as if bitten out of the earth, crumbling walls and eroded sculptures poking up out of the hollow in the ground with a tired antiquity. Despite age wearing down their majesty, it did not take away from the spectacle before them. Worn, tumbled down and decrepit though they were, tall pylons reached up out of the earth like broken teeth, columns and solid buildings stretching behind them, down a long open thoroughfare.

Evelyn was poking at a more erect looking pillar just nearby, grinning from ear to ear. She scrabbled at her tool leather, blabbering away at her husband behind her.

"Oh my God, Rick, just take a LOOK at these carvings! Why they're nothing _like_ your classic Egyptian relief. Look at that style! Look at the length of the fingers... the realism in those faces!"

Connie frowned, absently gripping at Ardeth's sleeve. "I don't have a good feeling about this..."

"Are your feelings usually correct?"

She eyed him, and Ardeth nodded. "I see. We must stop her before she upsets any curses."

Connie smiled, following Ardeth down the sand dune. He carefully leapt down a steep dip in the sand, and turning he offered his arms up to Constance. With a blush, she let her hands meet his a moment before settling in the dip between his shoulders and neck. His strength lifted her easily, her vertigo rushing in her chest a moment as he set her down. It was a strange swooping sensation, augmented by knowing it was this man's strength that supported her for a brief moment, his will keeping her from falling.

She shook the warmness from her limbs and continued her way over to Evelyn, who swept a brush over ages old hieroglyphs, sand falling away at her touch.

"This is incredible," she breathed, fingers skidding over deeply carved hieroglyphs. "This speaks of the benevolent Sun God... by the name of... Aten."

She barely noticed it at first. A deep shift in the sand, the lowest and most imperceptible of rumbles. Suddenly, sand threw itself about from the ground, and a gust of wind swept past them. Rick spun about, pulling out a revolver, Ardeth just as quick with his scimitar. Jonathan just sort of spasmed on the spot, Alex hiding behind him. Evelyn glanced about herself, a disconcerted frown in her brow.

"Okay..." She gulped, "I don't like it when things do that..."

"Me either," Rick said in a harried tone, eyes scanning the ruins around them.

Evelyn cleared her throat, pulling a lock of hair from her face. "Perhaps it's just a warning," she said. "I'll make sure not to open any caskets or utilize any keys without reading their labels first, I promise..." Her voice drifted off as her eyes settled on a wall further away, a grand carving stretching out on it. It was the sun, with its rays shining forth, each one of them ending in little yellow hands clasping ankhs... life. It said the sun gave life, without spelling out a word.

Connie stepped back from the towering yet crumbling pillars that seemed to herald an entrance. She eyed the decaying monoliths warily before turning away. She stopped as her turn faced her to Ardeth behind her and she batted her eyelids softly.

"There is something wrong, Miss Adams?"

Connie shrugged then looked back to Evy. "Something feels very wrong to me."

Ardeth's gaze at her grew more intense. "In what way?"

She felt a little shaken by his sudden attention, and she shrugged. "There's something we should know... something we need to see..."

Ardeth's brow creased a moment as he pressed his lips together, then putting his hand at her back he guided her over to where Rick, Jonathan and Alex stood. "Evelyn!"

Evy turned, a brow tilted up in enquiry. Upon seeing Ardeth's dour expression she came back over to them.

"Yes? What is it?"

Ardeth looked pointedly to Constance then, who shifted awkwardly at the sudden attention.

"I have a feeling," said Connie, "That... that we should - we need to - to read something." She frowned, closing her eyes, hands cradling her forehead. "God, I wish it were clearer, what I need to say... to you."

Evelyn's face grew lax with confusion. Connie looked around her, and then back to the pillars. Those damn pillars. Her eyes traced their broken tips, down their aged and broken lengths, and upon the heaped sand at their bases, her being lurched.

"There," she said, pointing suddenly. "What you need to know is there, under the sand."

Evelyn looked to the base of the pillars, then back to Connie. "Under it?"

Connie nodded. "I - there's nothing clearer than that, Evy."

"Right, well," Evelyn propped her hands on her hips, looking to the base of the pillars. "Hmm... may as well get started. Here's as good as anywhere." She turned about. "Boys..." She poked her finger in the sand between the pillars and drew a big 'x'. "X marks the spot. Get those shovels out! I'm going to have a quick look around."

Jonathan echoed Evelyn's posture and nodded, turning away. "Yes, yes... I'll just supervise-" A shovel was suddenly underneath his nose, and as he looked up, he met the unimpressed eyes of his brother in law. Rick smiled thinly.

"Get digging, Jonathan."

Jonathan groaned a little, rolling his head back before making his way over to the base of the pillars. "Great. Remind me why I'm here again?"

Alex gripped his shovel and smiled back at him, with a dry expression eerily like his father's. "You really need me to say it?"

After a beat, the both of them muttered. "Treasure."

Ardeth took a shovel, treading to the bank of sand that buried the base of the pillars. He started digging, seeing other shovels bite portions out of the dry sand. One shovel, dig dig, two shovel, dig dig, three, four, five shovels. Dig dig - Five shovels? Four men, five shovels? He glanced up.

Next to him Connie dug, her brow a little dented in concentration. He looked down at her shovel, then back to her, then down at the shovel again. She looked up at him, cocking a brow. "You don't seem to be digging, Mr. Bay."

Ardeth shook his head a little, and shrugged. "I think perhaps it would be better if you helped Evelyn with her findings."

Connie chuckled. "I sincerely doubt that Evy, with all her expertise, needs help from the likes of me. I'm only a Cultural Historian after all."

Ardeth pressed his lips together, brow ticking. "Nonetheless," he said, "You need not exert yourself here when there are already four of us digging."

Connie's brow cocked up, mirroring Ardeth's, and she slowly stood upright. Jonathan and Rick both glanced up, their ears pricking at the tones growing firmer. The blonde woman planted a hand on her hip, the other leaning on the shovel. "I think you mean four men, don't you Mr. Bay?"

The Medjai seemed to pale a bit but he nodded. "Very well, if you want to put it like that-"

"Oh no," groaned Jonathan.

"Not the right thing to say, Ardeth..." said Rick in a low tone.

"No," Connie said, other hand meeting her hips, "I'd say not!"

Ardeth sighed, looking down to the shovel in his hands then back up to Constance. "Please, Miss Adams, it is not a reflection on your ability-"

"Pray tell what _is_ it a reflection on then?" she said, eyes wide in question.

He eyed her firmly. "You have been sick, suffering from vertigo and heat exhaustion only days before. I only thought that you could use a rest."

The protesting look on Connie's face fell away. "Oh."

Alex tilted his head, scratching behind his ear in bemusement. He looked up to his father, who shrugged once and got back to digging, Jonathan following suit.

"I dunno," he muttered, "Women!"

Connie glowered at the man before glancing to Ardeth. "Thank you, Mr. Bay, but I'll be fine." She struck the sand with her shovel, continuing to dig. With a resigned sigh, Ardeth got to digging himself. There was a moment of silence as the small group dug away at the dry pile of sand. A trudging sound came from behind them, a sniffling, and an impressed hum.

"Digging."

Connie looked behind her. Izzy stood there, hands on hips, nodding sagely.

"Yes Izzy," O'Connell said doggedly, his voice hitched with his movements as he hefted loads of sand.

"Right." He nodded and turned away. "Have fun. I'll be in the dirigible if ya need me."

"Fun!" huffed Connie. "Yes! Fun!"

Ardeth looked to her, "You do not need to do this if you-"

"Oh don't you start!" she muttered, eyeing him. "Honestly. You'd think you'd not want me here!"

"You are getting red in the cheeks-"

She stood up, leaning on her shovel and growling at him in a low tone. "My dear Mr. Bay, it is quite _normal _for a woman of my complexion to attain a slight blush when exerting herself. If you'd let me dig for more than five minutes, you may even get to see me sweat!"

Rick and Jonathan both turned away suddenly, coughing and digging further away.

Ardeth sighed a harried sigh, digging a little more furiously. "Again you misinterpret my intent!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"You have already proved yourself susceptible to the heat, Miss Adams-"

Connie huffed. "Yes well, I think I've gotten used to it by now!" She stabbed the sand with her shovel.

"Ah." Ardeth nodded. "You are going to keep testing your limits until you pass out yet again!"

"Heaven forbid you'd have to undress her again," Alex smirked.

Rick's head popped up over his shoulder and he glared at his son. "Alex!"

Alex looked away contritely. "Sorry."

Rick shot an apologetic look to Connie. "He's got his mother's mouth," he shrugged, "You know."

Connie nodded a little bewilderedly before getting back into her digging. "One would have to wonder if you'd ever seen a woman sweat before, Mr. Bay!"

Ardeth paused a moment, trying to wrap his mind around what Connie had just said, and sighed, continuing to dig. "What are you insinuating Miss Adams?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said with a non-committal shrug, "Maybe perhaps that you don't know what a woman is capable of!"

This seemed to disgruntle the calm peaceful exterior of the Medjai warrior, who stood upright and glared death at the blonde woman next to him. "Miss Adams, you are an ignorant woman!"

Connie stood upright to meet his glare, though it was some inches above her, and the sight of those dark brown eyes so enraged shook her a little. "I _beg_ your pardon!"

"You know nothing of me and my people!" he said, "You make assumptions of me because I am concerned for your well being!"

"I only know of experience, Mr. Bay," Connie said, hefting her shovel angrily, "And every other man I've ever known would tell me not to dig!"

Ardeth's eyes seemed to turn to fire. "So! In these conditions, I wish you to help Evelyn!"

Connie glared at him from head to toe and threw down her shovel. "Well in these conditions I wish you would go to HELL!"

It was all too much for the Medjai. He threw down his shovel and then threw up his arms. "Fine Miss Adams! I shall see what I can DO!"

"OUGH!" Connie spun and stormed off towards Evelyn, and Ardeth spun and strode towards the dirigible.

Alex, Jonathan and Rick stood there, shovels in mid air, jaws dangling at the spectacle before them. Alex looked to his father, who seemed to be just as bewildered as his son was. Jonathan shook his head.

"Ah," He huffed, digging once more, "This sort of thing always ends in tears or inappropriate love-making."

Rick frowned at Jonathan. "Hey - Alex is here listening."

Alex rolled his eyes, digging again. "Like you and Mum don't drown me in enough gooey love stuff to last me a lifetime."

"He's got a point," said Jonathan.

Rick sighed. "Yeah, yeah, just shut up and dig."


	12. The Seal of Tutankhamun

**Chapter Twelve**

Connie trotted with determination towards her best friend who was at the sun-crested wall, diligently dusting its engravings and taking in its ancient glory. The woman brushed at the hieroglyphs bit by bit, mumbling to herself out loud and stopping to scribble down notes in her notebook that she had flat against the wall. Constance sighed as she drew close, to herald her approach as well as air her general weariness at the world around her.

"Did I hear shouting?" asked Evelyn, not looking away from the wall. "What is that? Ka.. ka.. oh no not - aah... I see... sun rising..."

"Indeed," Connie said, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall her friend worked at. "That Mr. Bay is incorrigible!"

Evelyn blinked at Connie in disbelieve. "Mr - you mean Ardeth?" Connie just stared at Evy. Evy nearly spluttered. "That was Ardeth shouting?"

"Yes!" huffed Connie.

Evelyn shook her head, "I've never heard that man raise his voice outside of battle in the whole time I've known him! He's as even tempered as they come - he's-"

"A pain in the behind!" growled Connie. "Honestly! He had all sorts of funny issues with me digging!"

Evy's brow dipped a little. "Well - did he say what they were?"

Connie pouted sullenly. "Yes."

There was a passing moment of silence before Evy put a hand on her cocked hip. She rose a brow at Connie. "Well?"

Connie looked to her. "Well what?"

Evy flapped a hand, "What were they!"

"Oh!" Connie waved a hand back at her, spinning around and sinking her fingertips into unearthed hieroglyphs, "Piffling little excuses really..." She met her best friend's eyes then sighed fitfully. "Well he was bringing up my bout of heat exhaustion in front of the other men and it was terribly embarrassing!"

Evelyn smiled a little, shaking her head. "Connie..."

"Hello, yes?"

The dark haired woman lifted a brow, "I think you owe Ardeth an apology."

"ME?" Connie gasped, "Me an apology - why that's-"

"If I know you," Evelyn said, turning a brush to some heavily sand-caked hieroglyphs, "You probably told him to go to hell, and I don't think the poor man has had to deal with women saying that to him very often..."

Connie winced, kicking the sand. "Damn you, Evy. How dare you know me so well." She groaned, leaning against the wall, fiddling with her fingers. "Oh, damn myself for always being so difficult."

"Connie," said Evy, engrossed in the carvings before her, "If you weren't being difficult I'd wonder what was wrong with you."

"Lovely," moaned Connie softly. "I'm doomed to be an annoying blubbering fool for the rest of my days."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Now you're just being melodramatic. Say sorry to Ardeth, and I'm sure everything will be fine. The man travelled all this way through Egypt with you. If he's not used to the way you are by now he never will be!"

Connie frowned bemusedly. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "Evelyn..."

"Yeeees..." Evelyn brushed away some sand from the wall very carefully, her jaw hanging open in concentration. "Aah... Tuh... tuh... hmm... "

"What does it matter if Mr. Bay is used to the way I am or not?"

Evelyn smiled and shrugged. "Well he-" She blinked, standing up and glaring, coughing, looking anywhere but at Connie's face. Obviously she'd remembered who she was talking to. "It's just good manners, isn't it?" She patted her stomach, twiddling her brush in her long fingers. She ticked her brows up likeably for good measure.

"Right," Connie half-lidded her eyes and nodded slowly. "I told you back at Hamunaptra, my dear woman-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I know what you told me," said Evelyn with a sigh, looking back to her work. "I didn't mean it like that. I mean he's a good friend of the family," She gave a non-committal wave, "You're a friend of the family too. It would pay to at least be on talking terms with the man. What on earth is that?" She blew at the wall and sucked on her bottom lip. "Oh... ahmenafus."

Connie stared at the carving of the stork for a moment before looking to Evy again. "What on earth does all this say anyway?"

Evy stepped back a moment, looking the wall up and down. She propped a hand on her hip, humming softly to herself. "From what I can gather... I think it's a poem of some sort. It's quite remarkable... it's all about the Sun, or Aten as it's referred to here." She met Connie's enquiring quirk of her brow, and smiled. "Here look..." She placed her fingers upon the carvings, her voice gentle and brimming with awe as she spoke. "When you shine as Aten of daytime..."

A deep rumbling occurred. It was heavy, shuddering, and so imperceptible that it was missed by the two women. It was not, however, missed by everyone.

"...As you cast your rays, The Two Lands are in festivity..."

Beyond their ears there was a cracking of earth, a shifting of sand. Booted heels thumped the sand, running as fast as their owner could make them move.

"...Awake they stand on their feet, You have roused them..."

Movement lifted sand. Magic lifted souls. Silent, deadly, unknown, they moved in dark chambers with dead air and dead inhabitants. One was taller than the rest. One was incomplete as they were, but waiting for completion.

Not far away, the runner skirted the corner to the wall where the ladies read of ancient texts.

"... Bodies cleansed, clothed, Their arms adore your appearance."

Connie sighed, shaking her head, eyes roving over the hieroglyphs, unaware of their individual meanings, but soaking in their translations as a whole. "How beautiful..."

"STOP!"

Connie turned, heart jarring at the voice that rang out to them. Evy followed suite, heart over chest, frowning at the intrusion.

"Dear me!" she gasped, "What's-"

Ardeth strode towards them, eyes fiery in alarm, his hands up, shaking a little. "Do not read any further!"

Evelyn glanced back at the wall then to Ardeth. "Why on earth not?"

He stopped, catching his breath and poking a thumb at the direction he came in. "We have uncovered what Miss Adams may have sensed."

Connie seemed to get a little pale at this, and she held herself, eyes widening in surprise. Evelyn touched her friend's shoulder.

"You all right?"

Connie looked haunted. "I didn't expect to be right about this..."

"You were right," Ardeth said, his glare at her almost pinning her to the wall behind her. "Come!"

He turned with a swirl of his robes and ran back towards the pillars they'd began digging at. Evelyn sighed, placing her brush down with her things and following him in a similar gait. Connie sighed, glancing at the wall behind her, feeling a chill at her sudden solitude. She didn't like standing there, she didn't like the feeling it gave her. The wall behind her seemed to be of love and paradise. The ruins around her cried of a paradise destroyed. She shuddered, and went on after her friends.

She didn't know whether to be disgruntled or surprised at the progress the men had made in her absence. Instead she just crouched next to Evelyn, who seemed a strange shade of pale as her fingers skidded lightly over the carvings that lay inside a cartouche.

"Dear me..." she breathed.

Jonathan's brow was wrinkled, a tenseness in his features that didn't aid Rick or Alex's calmness any. Alex wriggled in next to his mother to read what had her so distressed.

"What does it say?" asked Connie.

Ardeth gave her a sharp look. "It is a seal," he said.

Evelyn nodded, "Yes... yes he's right. It _is_ a seal. A seal at the steps of this city... it's not just any seal, though."

"Oh?" Connie tilted her head. "Is it an important one?"

"I should say so!" said Evelyn, her hands shaking a little. "It's the seal of Tutankhamen!"

"Tutankhamen?" Rick frowned, "What's his seal doing here?"

"Well, it's theorised amongst the Bembridge scholars that the fabled King Akhenaten was actually Pharaoh Amenhotep the Fourth - father to Tutankhamen, the boy King. If this is true, then Tutankhamen sealed off a city his own father constructed. Probably at the command of his highest priests." Evy shook her head, "You know this means this seal is over three thousand years old?"

"Wow," gasped Alex. He reached out a grubby hand, touching the ancient stone.

There was a moment of tense silence as Evy's fingers drifted over the hieroglyphs carved deeply into the seal. Her breath seemed to hitch, her hand shaking slightly. She glanced around her, worry in her brow, and then looked back to the stone.

"Evy?" Rick said, his voice a warning drone, "What is it?"

"Uh," Her mouth stumbled over the words that followed, "It - it says here that uhm - that uh..." Her husband lifted a brow. "It says that - uh - that whoever steps over this seal is e-entering the-uh- the City of Heretics." She took in another breath, trying to steady herself. "Upon entering if- if they utter the words of worship to A-Aten or show any erm - any reverence to the false Sun-God that they will em - it's - hehe I-"

"Evy spit it."

"They will wake the Unholy Monster that will devour them whole," she said very quickly, very low, looking away and covering her mouth once she was done.

Alex rolled back on his heels, his bottom impacting on the ground. "Oh brother!"

"Well it's easy isn't it?" Jonathan said, a stressed smile on his face, "Just don't read anything out right?" Two sets of large blue eyes met his, laden with guilt. A groan lifted in the Englishman's throat. "Oh don't tell me..."

"They have read from the wall over there," Ardeth said, his tone dour, "With the emblem of Aten upon it!"

"They were," Evelyn cleared her throat, "The wall, that is to say, it contains erm... a poem."

Rick looked to his wife, dread etched in his features. "Please tell me the poem was about this King's dead cat..."

"Nuh-no," Evy shook her head. "It was about erm... Aten."

"Our time to leave here has passed," Ardeth said, standing and pulling out a scimitar, "We must search this place and be sure we make rid of any evil we may have unleashed."

Rick nodded, pulling a gun from his belt. "Right. Alex, you stay with your mother."

Alex nodded, Evy motioning Alex over to her.

"Evy - you stay in the airship."

Evy glared at him. "What! No! I have to continue my-"

Rick's hand sealed over her mouth and he glared at her solidly. "Darling, losing you the first time was hard enough. You can guard Connie, Alex and Izzy in the dirigible. Ardeth and I will scout around till the coast is clear."

Jonathan nodded, "Good plan. I'll stay here - you know - scout-"

Rick grinned thinly at the man. "No, you're coming with me."

As Constance glanced about herself, her eyes fell on the scimitar in Ardeth's hand that seemed to come from nowhere. She strode to the man, her hands clamping down over his on the hilt of the weapon. "Now really Mr. Bay," she stammered, "Do you really think there could be an Unholy Monster or some such nonsense down there?"

Ardeth eyed her firmly. "Seals are not placed without reason. You would not have sensed it if there were no danger here."

Connie frowned, her breath becoming flustered huffs. "Well that's exactly it, Mr. Bay!" she said. "Should you be really going in there? I mean what if something happened to you? I can't just sit here and wait while you go to your doom, I mean I would never forgive myself if-"

He stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder, his eyes growing soft. "This is my duty," he said. "A duty I was born to." He tilted his head a little, seeing the alarm in her eyes. She shook her head at him, eyes growing red. "Look into your heart, Miss Adams, look to that part of yourself that sees more than any of us do. What does it say to you?"

She sniffled, her hand curling around the hand that leant on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "It says that you should be careful..."

He nodded. "I will be."

"It - it also says," She took a shuddering breath; "It says that should you return to me, that you should call me Connie."

Ardeth smiled softly, a sad little smile, and ventured the lightest stroke of her cheek with the back of his knuckles. She sighed, leaning into the brief touch. He squeezed her shoulder gently, and then turned to meet the other men.

She didn't want to let him go as he moved away from her. Jonathan tensed his lips; the same fear that was in her heart was in his eyes. She sighed, looking to him with a soft frown.

"You look after yourself, Jonathan," she said.

The man nodded, waving at her. "Gah, I'll be fine. Don't you worry your pretty self about it."

He turned and listened to Ardeth, who pointed in the direction of the wall. Evelyn paced, shaking her head, tapping her lips, muttering.

"They'll never find their way in there," she said, more to herself than anyone else in particular. "They don't know the first thing about the layout of this city!"

Connie frowned. "Neither do you."

Evelyn glared at her best friend. "Yes but - I've been in other Egyptian ruins, and I know how they like to design their communities!"

Connie let the raised voice wash over her, and she strode to Evelyn, stopping her hands from their fiddling. The panic running through Evelyn was obvious, and it did nothing to aid the situation. In fact Alex looked very worried, nibbling a nail nervously. Connie put her hands on Evelyn's shoulders. "Evy, this won't help them."

Evy sighed. "I can't just sit here and wait for them to get themselves killed!"

Connie blinked, her lips set firmly. "Evy... They're big strong men that have apparently survived this sort of thing before. Now..." She squared Evy in front of her, raising her brows, her voice growing quieter. "We wait for them. We wait. Okay?"

Evelyn looked to Connie with wide eyes of loss, a laxness of surrender growing in her frame.

"Right," Connie nodded. "We wait. For half an hour. If we've not heard from them by then we're barging in with guns and clubs blazing."

Evy glanced to the men, then back to Connie. "Connie, you have no idea what's in there-"

"Neither do you," Constance said, crossing her arms. "Jonathan is like a brother to me, Evy, and Ardeth... well he's saved my life before now and it's only decent that I return the favour." She nodded to herself. Evy managed a half-hearted smirk.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?"

"Oh you!"

Rick marched up to the two women, sighing heavily. He took his wife's hand, turning her around. He had the expression of a man condemned, a look that didn't suit the usually gentle handsome features.

"Honey... we're going in," he said, voice almost breaking. "You - you stay-"

"I know," Evelyn said, nodding. She leant forward, kissing him firmly before squeezing his upper arms and pushing him away. "Go on," she said, "Clear the place out for me."

He nodded. "I will." Kissing her once more, tenderly and with savour, he visibly steeled himself. He stepped back, waving to her before rejoining the other men. He slapped Jonathan on the shoulder roughly, the man waving to his sister. Evelyn nodded after him, tears in her eyes. She smiled briefly to Ardeth, who sent her a quick acknowledging glance.

He stared at Connie a good long moment though, before turning towards the city and disappearing beyond the wall that spanned its perimeter.

Evy turned to Alex, taking him by the shoulder. "Come on Alex," she said, "We should get into the dirigible."

* * *

The old walls around them reached up high, creating stark lines of shadow in the mid-afternoon sun. The men walked towards the largest of the buildings, a seemingly multi-storey affair, huge towering dunes rolling away far behind it. It was awesome. Its front doorway, a huge thing, had a faded painted lintel, a circle there with wide stretching wings upon it. Ankhs sat either side of it, black and imposing. Jonathan winced in the sunlight.

"Say..." he said, "That's a pretty impressive building."

Ardeth nodded. "The pharaohs did not spare expense in their living arrangements."

"Well, they had plenty to throw about, didn't they?" Jonathan rubbed his hands together, "A mere two bags of the stuff set my Evy up for life."

Rick shot an unimpressed look at Jonathan before looking back to the dark angular hollow that was the entrance to the palace they headed for. "Just try to concentrate on the task at hand, guys?"

Jonathan nodded contritely. "Sorry."

Rick waved a hand at him to shut up. All that filled their ears was the light crunching of their steps on the fluffy light sand, freshly blown about and moved by the wind. One could tell by looking at them that their nerves were jangling, that their muscles were taut with wired energy, that they definitely didn't want to be there and that if it were their choice they'd be out of there immediately.

A set of grand even steps lead up to the doorway into the palace, and sand and rubble choked its edges. Ardeth gripped his scimitar, visibly bristling like a cat ready to pounce. Jonathan shuddered with badly veiled fear next to him, and Rick remained stoic.

They climbed the steps, Jonathan stumbling on a loose brick, their steps echoing off the wall in front of them. Rick helped Jonathan to his feet, frowning at him.

"I'm fine," the Englishman mouthed, and Rick nodded.

The bright sunshine of the day was swallowed up behind them by the doorway as they stepped tentatively into the palace. Jonathan screwed up his face, frowning at the wreckage and piles of sand inside the room.

"Ugh," he cringed, "Whatever may have risen will have its work cut out for it, getting through all this mess!"

Ardeth glanced unappreciatively at Jonathan. "Do not be lulled into a false sense of security," he breathed. "We do not know what we are dealing with here."

Jonathan curled a nostril, striding forward into the darkness. "I think this party is dead, Ardeth old mate." He kicked a pile of sand, and promptly sent his toe crashing into something hard. He stifled a yelp by stuffing part of his fist into his mouth, hopping on one foot. Ardeth frowned, striding over to see what Jonathan had hurt himself on.

Dusting off the sand, a dark blue stone muzzle protruded from the light coloured sand. Dread filled his chest, as he knew the shape of that animal's snout anywhere. He dusted back the sand, and with a low grunt of effort, pulled the stone from it's millennia old grave.

It was broken in half, seemingly made of a dark slate common to the areas more south of Egypt. Ardeth heard Rick kneel down beside him.

"What is that?"

The statue was a jackal-faced well muscled warrior, garbed in Egyptian fair, broken jaggedly in half.

"A warrior of Anubis," Ardeth said, eyes swimming with puzzlement. "I do not know why this would be here. The myth of Amarna speaks of a One-God... if this place is that Amarna, then there should be no articles of worship for any God other than Aten."

Rick stood, whirling about, thought etched deep in his features. His eyes darted along the walls, taking in his surroundings.

"Somethin' ain't right here..."

Jonathan looked up from nursing his stubbed toe. "Wuh? What are you talking about?"

Rick pointed to the walls. "Things have been moved..." He looked to Ardeth. "Ardeth - dig out the rest of that statue, will ya?"

Ardeth nodded, beginning to scoop away the sand. Jonathan knelt, watching him work, examining the top half of the statue he found. "Say... not very pretty are they?"

"They are uglier when they are moving," Ardeth muttered before shoving sand from in front of him.

Jonathan nodded, "Yes... well... I'll take your word for it."

Rick tipped his head, hands gripping the guns he held. "If my suspicions are correct, Jonathan, you may not have to."

Jonathan glared at Rick. "Now let's not talk like that!"

Ardeth grunted, and slowly he dragged out the last half of the statue. Rick knelt down to help him, and upon pulling out the base of the stone artefact, he gritted his teeth.

"This is not good." He let his fingers trace the edge of the stone statue's base. "See that?"

Jonathan nodded.

Rick got to his feet, striding over to the far edge of the wall of the room. He pointed to the sandy floor in front of it. "There's an imprint in the sand right here, matching it." He snorted, "Hell - there are heaps of them. Look at it..."

Jonathan's brow knitted as he came over, eyes travelling the hollows in the sand that covered the ground in varying depths.

"You don't think it could be raiders?"

"Not likely," Rick frowned, examining the sandy floor. "This place has only just been uncovered, and there aren't that many treasure hunters around with aerial transportation."

"Footprints..."

Jonathan and Rick turned about to see the Medjai pointing to the floor near a dusty dais. They came over to see them. Ardeth shook his head.

"Sandals," he said, "Like-"

"Don't say it," Jonathan said, glancing around himself. "Oh... things were looking up for a minute there too."

"Shh," Ardeth lifted a hand, walking back to the centre of the room. "Do you hear something?"

Rick glanced about, brow dented as he strained to hear. The sound he was struggling to hear was low, one that seemed to come from the very walls and floor around them, but it wasn't a rumbling. It was almost a beat. The rhythmic movement that was barely a sound made the odd trail of sand drift down from deep reliefs in the walls around them. Ardeth looked to the centre of the wall behind them and the piles of rubble and dirt that half buried the dais in front of it. He pursed his lips.

"O'Connell," he said. "Jonathan, can you help me move this?" He motioned towards the rubble. Both the men nodded, Jonathan a little grudgingly.

"Would you like to tell us why we're doing this?" asked Jonathan.

"A hunch," Ardeth replied.

It turned out that most of the pile before them wasn't entirely sand and rubble. After picking off most of the larger pieces (and shaking off a severe case of deja-vu), Ardeth and Rick began brushing sand off a definite throne-like structure. Jonathan licked his lips as a yellow metallic surface glinted up from under the thickly packed dust, and he tried not to shake as more of the concealed artefact was unearthed.

"Oh..." Jonathan caught a whimper. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Last time you went home with a diamond the size of your head," Ardeth said, eyeing Jonathan firmly. "Are you not happy until you take home all the Pharaohs ever had?"

Jonathan jutted a bottom lip and stood up in indignation. "I resent the tone of that remark!"

Rick sighed hotly. "You two - save it. What is this thing anyway?"

Jonathan shrugged. "I'm only a treasure hunter, what would I know about Egyptian artefacts?" The man turned away, shoulders hunched as he crossed his arms.

Rick glanced at Ardeth sharply before grabbing Jonathan and pulling him over. "We don't have _time _for this..."

"No, but we have all the time in the world to question my integrity!"

Rick screwed his face up at Jonathan in incomprehension. "What? You don't have any integrity!"

Jonathan blustered a huff. "Well! I may be unscrupulous but I expect to be treated with a little respect, you know?"

Rolling his eyes, Rick looked to Ardeth. "Ardeth... say sorry." Ardeth opened his mouth but Rick stopped him before he could protest. "Uh-uh. Now."

Ardeth gave a quick nod to Jonathan, genuine remorse in his eyes. "I apologise."

"There," Rick slapped both the men's shoulders roughly. "Don't we feel all warm and special now?"

"Not particularly," Jonathan groused, "Though that may improve with time."

Rick sighed. "Jonathan, the throne... what is it?"

The Englishman sighed, brushing at the back of the chair, curling a nostril with great effort. "Ugh... Well it's a throne, what does it look like? Has a name on it too... The... hmm… the King of the Sun? No... no, no. King, CHILD of the Sun... Benevolent Sun God... Aten." He blew a breath out his puffed cheeks. "Basically it says it's Akhenaten's throne."

"Okay," Rick looked around himself, pressing his lips together. "Not offering any new information here."

"It is not the throne that I was concerned with," Ardeth said.

Rick looked up to where Ardeth was, and frowned. The man was behind the throne, fingers sliding up and down between the bricks that made the wall, sand falling away. Behind the throne was a large relief carving, similar to the one that graced the lintel at the entrance of the palace. A winged sun-disk, this time with countless straight spindly arms reaching down from it, grasping ankhs in their little hands. Ardeth's fingertips ran up and down a particular crack in the wall. The bricks in the building were laid one on top of the other, no mortar, flush and tight, as in the style of the period. There was no brickwork here; the wall was two entire slabs of dark slate, and this seam he examined... it was straight up and down. It divided the wall in half... from ceiling to floor. Ardeth frowned, kneeling down and examining the sand underneath his feet.

"Look at this..."

Rick knelt down next to him, a sigh leaving him as he saw what Ardeth saw.

In the shallow sand that was right up against the wall there was a foot print. It was much like the other sandal prints they'd seen, though remarkable for one reason only. The wall cut halfway through it, as if it slammed down on top of the print. Or slid across...

Ardeth ran the flat palm of his hand over the lower seam in the wall. His brow ticked and he looked to O'Connell. "Put your hand there, tell me what you feel."

Rick, glancing at Ardeth briefly, did as he asked. "There's air-flow..."

Ardeth nodded. "Indeed."

"I'm also willing to bet that's where our strange little vibration is coming from..."

Jonathan groaned, shaking his head. "I can see myself getting eaten by bugs again or encountering little pygmies that want to make a pin cushion out of me." He sighed. "Fantastic." With a weary slump of his body he threw himself down onto the throne, kicking a stone away. Unfortunately, the stone didn't roll away, and Jonathan's toe impacted quite firmly against it. The man howled.

Rick jumped up. "What?"

Ardeth jumped up too, hackles raised, and he strode to Jonathan's side.

"Bloody rock!" Jonathan cried, "Nearly took my toe off!"

Ardeth frowned, kneeling down. The rock was long, oblong shaped, and half buried in the ground at an odd angle... "I do not think that is a rock-"

The ground jumped under their feet, and Ardeth and Rick threw their arms about, trying to remain on their feet. Jonathan grabbed the armrests of his chair, eyes bugging wide in terror. A great rumbling filled their ears, and the sound of stone grinding against stone and sand deafened them. Rick spun about, glaring as the wall he'd just been standing in front of slid backwards, splitting in half and parting like a huge set of Japanese doors. The clink-clank of rusted mechanisms could be faintly heard, and so could the strange beat that had haunted them a moment ago.

Golden light spilled from the room that was revealed to them. Jonathan stood slowly, jaw dangling, shaking his head at what he saw. Rick held firmly onto his guns, edging back slowly, Ardeth taking a similar hold on his own weapons. When the stone 'doors' finished opening, the scene before them was finally revealed. The room beyond was seemingly gilded gold, lined with blazing torches and deep with etchings of the great God Aten.

It also happened to be brimming with Anubis Warriors, standing tall and vigil, large clawed fists bristling with weapons, assembled before a golden altar like nothing any of the men had seen. A huge polished disk of gold was above a stately altar, a statue either side of it that seemed to reach the ceiling. One was definitely a woman, the other seemed to be a man but had a strange long face and fingers, his hips swollen and feminine. Upon the altar was a gilded sarcophagus, laden with some form of colouring. Whether it was semi-precious stones it was detailed with or gems, who knew. They were too far away to tell.

That and there were hordes of hulking hell-beasts in the way of the most of it.

Rick's brows danced to a frown, incomprehension battling its way to his face. "What the hell...?"

"Huh-huh-hell?" Jonathan gulped, "What are those things?"

Ardeth's eyes gleamed with fear and he ground his jaw. "Trouble."

A clinking rumble struck the floor as the unearthly warriors turned around in perfect unison, eyes set on the intruders. Rick couldn't move.

"Uh... how many of them would you say there were, Ardeth?"

Ardeth was similarly frozen. "About four hundred of them."

"Uhhhh..." Jonathan wheezed then gave a choked laugh. "What say we get the hell out of here then eh boys?"

Rick ticked a lip. "Might not be an option."

"We need to get a message out to Izzy," Ardeth said, perfectly still, sizing up their numerous opponents. "Gather the other Medjai."

"Good plan," Rick said, "We kinda need to survive first..."

The Anubis warriors gave a chilling chorus of clunking as they took slow measured steps forward towards them. One in the middle strode out in front, raising his blade high. He looked back to his comrades, bearing half-decayed teeth, sunken eyes gleaming. Lifting his muzzle he opened his jaws. A baleful, stomach shuddering roar came from his throat, his slavering lips quivering in the force of his wail, the sound encouraging similar roars from the other warriors. The combined noise was not only deafening but it set every hair on the men's bodies on end.

"You must cut off their heads," Ardeth said quickly, quietly, as the beasts still roared at them. "It is the only way to kill them."

"Great," Rick glared at the warriors. "All I got is a gun."

Ardeth pressed his lips together. "Stay back until I kill the first warrior, then take his blade."

Jonathan stepped back, his whole body wracked with spasms of fear. "What about me!"

"Go back to the dirigible," Rick said, "Get Evy and the others the hell out of here and to the Medjai."

Jonathan nodded, turning to leave, but then looked back to Ardeth. "How will Izzy know where-"

"At the large oasis south of Hamunaptra," Ardeth said, "It is our settlement, now go!" Nodding franticly, Jonathan ran off. Ardeth looked to Rick. "Are you ready?"

Rick shrugged. "As I'll ever be."

The Anubis warriors, decayed lungs spent of their battle cries, took quick position, and then ran headlong at Ardeth and Rick.


	13. Captured

**Chapter Thirteen**

Jonathan ran down the wide expanse of road that led to the pillared entrance of the dead city. His lungs burned, and in the distance he could see the dirigible's balloon bob gently in the light desert breeze. He wanted to stop, collapse, have a nip of whiskey, but the desperation in his heart and the echo of the terrible roars in his ears drove him onwards. For a painfully long minute all he could hear was his rasping breath, his blood pulsing in his ears, the pounding of the sun's heat on his body making him break in a sudden sweat. He could feel his skin burning, and he struggled not to think of the battle behind him.

Skirting the corner of the entrance he raced towards the dirigible. "GO, GO, GO, GO!"

He threw himself upon the side of the dirigible, pulling himself up. Evelyn and Connie ran to the side, glaring at Jonathan.

Evy shook visibly as Jonathan hauled himself over the edge of the boat. "What? Where's Rick?"

"Where's Dad?"

Connie stood stock still, gripping the railing of the boat.

"They're back there," Jonathan said, gasping for breath, "They told me to get you away, get you to H-hamunaptra."

"What's going on, Jonathan?" Evelyn's tone was demanding, her eyes glistening in withheld panic.

"There are hordes of evil beasts back there and if I were you I'd get Alex the hell out of here!"

Evelyn glanced back at Izzy, then to Alex. Her heart clenched wildly in her chest as she laid eyes on her son. Her thoughts raced, possibilities galloping through her mind. Rick could be alive. Rick could be dead. He could be in trouble. He could need her. Could she stand by as he was killed? Could she ever live with herself if she did such a thing? She could help him, she could help him and stop him and Ardeth from getting themselves killed. She took the boy by the shoulders, kissing him on the forehead before pushing him towards Izzy.

"Go Izzy," she said, "Now. Jonathan, you're going back there and you're taking me with you."

Izzy stepped forward, "Now come on ladies, there's been enough-"

"NOW!" Evelyn sat Alex down on one of the pews.

"But Mum!" The boy cried, "I don't want to leave you here!"

Evelyn glared at him evenly. "It's bad enough that I'm going back in there, Alex. Now let's not kill off the O'Connells in one fell swoop, eh?"

"That's not funny," he muttered.

"I'll be all right," she said, embracing him quickly. She kissed him again and turned to Connie. "You look after him," she said, "Please."

Connie's eyes drifted to Evelyn's. Look after Alex. Stay in the ship. Drift up and away, and she wouldn't know... Ardeth was in there. She gulped, looking to her best friend, eyes welling with tears. "I can't-"

Jonathan groaned. "Come on!"

Connie shook her head, gripping Evelyn's arm. "I can't, Evy, I can't leave him!"

Evelyn gripped Connie's arms in return. "It's dangerous in there. I assure you, Ardeth has gotten himself out of more terrifying scrapes than I care to imagine, so don't you worry. You get his friends, so we can undo this mess we've made."

Before Constance could protest Evelyn had leapt down the side of the vessel, pulling Jonathan after her. Connie raced to the edge of the dirigible, eyes wide as her friends ran clear of the ship. Izzy shouted out, orders or some such that she couldn't listen to, couldn't take the time to understand. All she saw was Evelyn and Jonathan, running across the sand, and flashing blades.

There was a lifting around her, and the dirigible rose silently.

...Ramla...

Her heart clenched as the name was whispered in her mind, in that voice, that voice that spoke of a soul that was so broken, so broken. She whimpered, grabbing a rope beneath her hands and leaping over the edge of the ship.

"OY!" Izzy's voice rang out. "OY LADY! Don't you be doing that! OY!"

Connie screamed as she dropped down, gripping the rope in her hands, her stomach in her throat as she fell. Her shoulder sockets exploded in pain as the rope reached its length, her hands burning like fire. Below her the ground rolled away, six feet between her.

"Miss ADAMS!"

She heard Alex's voice cry out, and glancing up she gasped for breath that seemed to be stolen from her lungs. Her chest could barely move with her arms above her, and her vertigo seized her with a merciless spin. "I..." She let out a howl. "Ohhhhhhhh! I am fine!" Clenching her eyes shut and wagging her legs, she let go of the rope.

Her stomach yawned again, and she let her arms spread out wide as she hurtled down. She relaxed her legs as she met the ground, sand giving way under her feet and balance continuing its absence. She tumbled down the side of the dune she landed on, like a doll thrown down a set of stairs, and she felt each thump and impact roll through her body. _I am like the leaf_, she thought as she went, _I am like the leaf. Light upon the ground._

She wasn't very light at all, and finally rolling to a stop, she let her brain pull itself from its state of shock to take stock of her situation. She was upside down, knees about her ears, sand in her mouth, in her eyes, in her hair, and she hurt all over.

"Ohhhhh," she moaned. She let herself roll onto her back, and she coughed, clearing her mouth and lungs of desert dust. Dragging herself to her feet, she glanced up. The dirigible had flown right past her, and she could see little Alex at the stern. She waved, using her whole body in the movement, hoping he'd know it meant she was okay. For added security, she threw her arms forward, as if to shoo him off. The dirigible didn't turn around, so she figured they got the point.

Staggering up the dune, she remembered Ardeth's words about not wandering too far away. For one horrid moment she thought that she might have dropped herself in the middle of the desert, but as she made it to the crest of the sandy hillock, the sight that welcomed her also gave her a sigh of relief.

Amarna stretched away before her, and she saw the small figures of Jonathan and Evelyn running frantically towards the building where faint sounds of roaring were emanating from. Gritting her teeth with determination, she began to run towards the structure, despite the heat that engulfed her from the late afternoon and the sand that half choked her. Her breath was steady though, and for the first time in her life she felt a deep rooted, soul defining determination.

* * *

His muscles tensed as he stood his ground, the throng of evil creatures running headlong in his direction, their movement rattling the building and his bones. He could hear Rick scuffle behind him, and his heart grew heavy. He hoped that the man could get his hands on a blade quickly. The beasts grew close, their teeth gleaming, and he threw himself forward into the mass of swirling blades, his own deflecting them with heavy clashes that numbed his flesh.

He thrust and feinted, kicking the beast in front of him. As it toppled over he relieved it of it's head, and black dust burst out over the stone floor. He grabbed the sword, throwing it back to Rick.

Somehow, Rick was already armed with a scimitar, but he took it anyway. Dispatching another monster Ardeth took another sword, his arms now extended with steel, knocking aside each blow and pushing his enemies back. He could feel the whoosh of blades behind him, and he ducked, rolled, avoiding two, three swords. There were many. Too many.

There was a scuffling of footsteps in the doorway behind him, and he heard a voice that he really, really did NOT want to hear.

"RICK!"

Ardeth glanced back as he dusted another creature, stepping back as the warriors tried to encircle him. Jonathan stood in the doorway, wincing with fear. "I told you to send her to Hamunaptra!"

Jonathan pointed at Evelyn. "You think this woman ever listens to a word I say?"

Evelyn raced forward, grabbing a sword and ploughing into the warriors with a roar of her own. Ardeth continued to block, slice, responding to manoeuvres that seemed almost ingrained into the creatures intelligence. They were fierce fighters, lethal fighters, but their weakness was that they all fought with the same moves, the same responses. They didn't learn from their mistakes, and thankfully they died from them. Unfortunately they always had vast numbers on their side, which often tended to win out.

They were also strong - very strong. He avoided blade-locks, going for slicing motions and a quick dispatch. He could hear the rattling explosion of sand as his friends destroyed their opponents. He glanced to see where Jonathan was... he was gazing out the doorway... he was surprised.

Ardeth couldn't spare more than glance. He threw himself into the fight, swinging up, twirling his blade to deflect the strike of a warrior behind him. How it got there he didn't know - he had to keep them in front of him. The strength of their blows stung his body and taxed his strength. He couldn't keep this up, and his defences were slipping. Evelyn's fresh and sharp fighting rid them of many of the creatures, and Rick continued to kill more, but three against four hundred... it wasn't possible.

He felt his body go through the motions, killing, deflecting, feinting, kicking, killing, and his mind revolved around this, teeth clenched as he followed through each step. _What were they doing?_ he wondered, _Why didn't they just run in the first place?_ There were too many of them - what were they going to do in such small numbers? A quiet part of his mind spoke back to him, and it made him fight harder.

If they had ran away, it would have led the entire horde to the dirigible... and to Alex, and Connie.

He was killing another creature when the voice rang out. His brain couldn't process the sound, because it wasn't possible, it couldn't be possible. It was enough to distract him, another creature slipping past his perimeter and coming in from behind. The half-rotted hound thing kicked out a clawed leg, knocking in the back of Ardeth's knees and sending him sprawling into his back. That voice rang out again and he felt tears spring in his eyes.

"Ardeth, NO!"

He kicked at the wall of legs around him, one monster lost its balance and crumpled over. Swords whooshed through the air, clanging and crashing, beheading the creatures around him. A pair of pale hands grabbed his shoulders and yanked, nails digging into his robes. Two more hands joined them and he was out of the way of the creature's blades. He didn't wait to thank his rescuers. Staggering to his feet he spun and wove his blades through the air, moving his body into its fighting rhythm, preparing to throw himself back into the melee.

Two creatures saved him the bother, running towards him, mouths open in guttural howls. He brought his swords down, crashing against theirs, bringing their defences low so he could swoop in high and relieve them of their heads. He beheaded one, and upon slicing through another he felt a blow against his side.

Searing pain... he tried not to fall back... Gritting his teeth he continued to attack. Then he heard it again.

"Ardeth... Ardeth!"

He didn't glance back, but he knew she was here. "Run!" he roared.

"No!" she cried back.

"Connie-"

"Miss Adams!" she wailed, tears in her voice. "You haven't gotten out of here yet!"

He growled, beheading another creature. "I am doing the best I can!"

With a chorus of bellowing roars, more warriors threw themselves at Ardeth, Evelyn and Rick, unsheathed blades glinting in the torchlight of the unearthed shrine.

* * *

Constance felt panic grip her. There were so many... so many of these things. Terror burned and ran rampant in her blood, her hands shaking at the sight that was before her. She had to do something... had to do something. Evelyn... She looked to her friend. How could she fight? She never knew of the woman learning to fight. She grabbed Jonathan, blabbering almost incoherently.

"How- how?"

Jonathan glanced to her. "What?"

"How?" She pointed at Evelyn. "With the swords! How did she?"

"Oh," Jonathan gulped, nodding. "She remembered, you know - from way back." Constance glared at him then. Jonathan looked to her, face clouding with puzzlement. "What?"

"Brother..." She whispered, "You... you're her _BROTHER!_"

"Ahaha," Jonathan nodded, grinning at her like she'd lost her last grip on reality, "Yes, yes, that's very nice Connie."

Connie had a spasm of excitement, eyes blazing, "Don't you SEE!"

Still grinning and nodding, Jonathan then shook his head, the smile falling from his face. "No."

"But it's so simple!" Connie laughed desperately, "Oh! I must trance!" At that she closed her eyes, crossed her legs and placed the palms of her hands together. For all intents and purposes, she looked as if she fell asleep sitting up.

Jonathan looked about him, at the chaos and shouting and roaring, then at the woman who had shut down. "Connie..." He gave a nervous laugh, "This isn't really the time..."

The woman didn't respond. Her lips moved in silent words, fast, making shapes that to anyone else made no sense. Her body tensed, her eyes darting about under the lids, her breath becoming faster. "_Sedjami metek_," she breathed, hands pressed together, the skin bulging from pressure, "_Sedjami metek!_"

Her eyes shot open, a gasp taking her, and with a scrabbling motion she got to her knees. All about her was black sand... and swords. She grabbed one, thrusting it in the air, muttering words quickly, quietly.

"Connie..." Jonathan tilted his head, fear in his eyes, "Connie, what are you doing?" He jiggled her arm.

With wild eyes she straddled the man, gripping the sword's blade above her head with her left hand.

Jonathan spluttered. "My word! Now - I think it would be better if we... what are you doing with that?"

She squeezed tightly on the blade, her knuckles growing white, tears of disbelief in her eyes. She pulled the sword from her hand, a terrible give shocking through her arm as her flesh gave way under the sword, blood spilling down her creamy white skin. She threw the sword aside, and grabbing a handful of white desert sand, she smashed it in her palm, still breathing words, silent and strange. She pulled a hand away, dipping her thumb in the mess of blood and sand, running it in circles till it was a ruddy thick mud. She pinned Jonathan down with her legs, eyes still blazing.

"_Djed-medewi her kah em khenoo!_" she shouted, thrusting her arm up in the air, "_Ahayi kah em hah sep!_"

"Conniee!" Jonathan struggled underneath her, but she had him firmly pinned, how, he didn't know, a woman her size shouldn't have been that strong. He squirmed as she pressed the pad of her thumb to the middle of his forehead, the bloody sand dribbling down the bridge of his nose.

"_Weben!_" she growled, "_Weben!_" She dragged her thumb over his forehead, drawing a shape. Jonathan felt her make a vaguely circular shape, then a cross... an ankh. She was drawing an ankh! "_WEBEN!_"

She tumbled from his lap as Jonathan jumped up, cradling his head, his mouth wide open and a strangled gasp leaving him. He almost looked in pain, but as he blinked, confusion shifted to clarity in his eyes. He looked about, as if only just seeing the situation for the first time.

"Wh..." He grabbed his jacket, ripping it off him and he grabbed a sword from the ground. "AAAAARGH!" The man ran headlong into the fray, sword flipping and twirling expertly, teeth bear in a berserker rage.

Evelyn double took as her brother sped past her, beheading Anubis warriors like they were going out of style, and she glared at Connie, cowering back against the wall.

"What ...UGH!" She pushed back a warrior. It rushed back at her with a howl, "Did you -" She beheaded it with a swift strike, "Do to my BROTHER!"

"Nothing!" shouted back Connie, "I awoke what was within him!"

"Awoke?" she cried, "You brought it out of a coma more like!" She growled and killed another creature. Beside her Rick was busy, his own manoeuvres showing sign of fatigue. Despite the addition of Jonathan's seemingly expert sword play, the Anubis warriors kept on coming.

"_AHB!_"

Evelyn spun about, crouching at the bone-rattling cry that rung out through the stone chamber. The Anubis warriors, all in the heat of battle, froze like statues. Jonathan, however, kept hacking into the still one in front of him, sword sinking into its limbs. Rick turned, puzzlement in his face and seeing Jonathan, he put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Jonathan... woah... calm down buddy!"

"I KILL IT!" Jonathan roared, "FOR EGYPT I KILL IT!"

Evelyn started at the words babbling from her brother's mouth, and storming over to him, she spun him about by the shoulder. He blinked at her, and before he could do much else she slapped him, hard. The man shook his head about, blinking, and looking down to his sword he looked startled. He dropped it immediately, jumping back a bit.

"Thank you," he said, gasping a breath. "I - I don't know what came over me..."

"No," Evy said, then eyed Connie firmly, "We shall find out later, shall we?"

Connie cowered. With the chaos paused, she took a moment to breath. Pain, she felt pain, and wet... her hand. She looked down calmly, but then double took at the cut in her palm and her eyes bugged. "OOOOOOW!"

Ardeth was looking around him, and upon hearing her cry he ran over to Connie. His eyes flashed with alarm as he saw the blood, and he glared at her.

"I did it to myself," she hissed, tears of pain in her eyes. "When I went into my trance state."

Kneeling down in front of her, Ardeth ripped at his robes, bringing out a black strip. Wiping away the dirt and mud he cleared the wound and began to deftly wrap it up.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, "I thought Jonathan-"

"That's gratitude," she muttered. "I don't know if you noticed, but I saved your life."

Ardeth ground his teeth, letting out a frustrated sigh. "It would not have been necessary if you were not there to distract me in the first place."

She snorted darkly. "Yes. And those hordes of warriors didn't have you pinned at all."

Ardeth glared at her, eyes smouldering, frustration in his features.

Evelyn's voice cut through their heated discussion, her tone steeped in fear and dread. "Oh my God..."

Ardeth was glaring at Connie, anger burning through is veins. He finally turned his head around to see what Evelyn was so damn worried about, and promptly paled.

The sarcophagus that had previously been lidded on the altar at the end of the glimmering gold chamber was open. Wide open. From it was standing a wrinkled, shrivelled body in resplendent gold-threaded robes. Its limbs were a dark brownish-grey, decayed flesh and muscles fluttering in the light flow of air and with his movements. His arms were thrust up into the air, and hollowed rotted eyes glared at the intruders with steely judgement.

He spoke then, his voice a light mid-range chorus of sound, not from his throat, not from anywhere. It seemed to resonate through the very matter all around them. His words were curled, choppy sentences of words that only two people in his vicinity understood.

"What's he saying?" said Connie, quivering behind Ardeth, fingers digging into his robes.

Evy cleared her throat, stepping back. "Uh... he - he's saying... Welcome."

Rick glared at Evelyn. "Welcome!"

"Yes," she said, "Welcome to my Great Temple..."

The creature nattered another phrase, and Evelyn gave a strangled cough.

"Er... he finishes with... My followers."

"Follower?" Rick spluttered, "I'm not his-"

"Hush Rick," Evelyn said. She looked to the risen corpse, stepping forward tentatively, ducking the frozen bodies of Anubis warriors. She spoke in his tongue. "If we are your followers, and you, I assume, are our great leader... then why were we attacked?"

The mummy almost seemed to smile. It sighed heavily, shaking its head, bringing its arms down gracefully. "Not my idea, my child of the Sun."

She gave a laboured breath, trying to calm herself as she looked upon the undead. She would never get used to seeing them move, and the terror inside her was hard to curb, even if this one seemed benevolent. "Why do you call me that?"

"You shine," it said, "You carry the soul of Egyptian Royalty." It turned its head. "You too, young man."

Jonathan turned about, doing a full three-sixty turn before looking back at the mummy. "What - me?"

The mummy chuckled. It barked a command at its Anubis Warriors. Two turned, and with swift movements they came towards the risen corpse, helping him down from the altar he'd been resting upon. Rick looked to Evy.

"Ask him, why the dog-men?"

Evy sighed, "I did. I'll try again." She looked to the thing. "Excuse me, you didn't tell me... er... why the Anubis-"

"My captors," it said, "My destroyers."

Evy tilted her head. "And who are _you_?"

The thing swung its arms up, threadbare cheek muscles pulling back to expose a rotted toothy grin. "Akhenaten! Benevolent King, lover of all creation! Believer of the one true God... that which brings us all life..."

"Aten," provided Evelyn. "If... if they're your destroyers..." she said, indicating the Anubis Warriors, "How is it you have command over them?"

"This control is only for a short time," he said. "But let us not worry about such things..." He went to step down from the dais his altar was set upon.

Evelyn stepped up to him to stop him, visibly trying to hold in her disgust but her seriousness blazing in her eyes. "No, let's."

Rick stepped forward. "Evy, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Evy said slowly, eyes not leaving that of Akhenaten's, "Just making sure we set some boundaries here."

Rick looked about, and then to the mummy. "Is there a reason why we're not shooting it to bits?"

"Rick," Evelyn said with a gasp, "This is a being that is over three thousand years old! If it's benevolent, we could learn a lot from it."

"If it were benevolent," said Ardeth, "It would not be doomed to be the walking dead."

"Good point there," laughed Jonathan nervously.

"Now listen," she hissed at them. "I've seen nothing to indicate that he was an evil man! In fact, I've seen some proof to the contrary."

Akhenaten tilted his head in question, and Evelyn smiled thinly.

"My friends just need translation," she said, "They do not understand Egyptian."

"Then you shall be my voice for them," Akhenaten said, bowing his head. He turned, sweeping his arms up at the large polished gold disk above him. "I worshipped Aten with all my heart! Aten was a good God, a true God, a loving kind God that nurtured all." He looked to Evy then. "It was not selfish, nor did It demand the riches and sacrifice that the Egyptians Gods required." Akhenaten gave a snort of a sigh and turned away from the disk. "I was destroyed for my need for love."

Evelyn gulped, fiddling with her fingers. She fought not to feel sorry for the man, but to be objective. She didn't know who he was, and he could have been as evil as Imhotep ever was. There was something about his voice though... it warmed something inside of her, and his graceful movements. They were like that of a wise man. Even so rotted, the man somehow managed to have charisma. When this thought registered in Evy's head, she shuddered violently.

"That - that is very unfortunate," Evelyn said.

"Destroy a nation, you are a good king. Conquer a people, you are a good king." Akhenaten stepped down from the dais, approaching Evelyn. "Try to create a paradise... and you are a very bad king, my child." Rick moved forward, taking the hand of his wife. Akhenaten tilted his head. "He does not need to worry, I mean you no harm."

"Yet," muttered Jonathan in English, understanding the risen king's words.

"What is it you want?" asked Evy. "You need something, that much is obvious."

"Perceptive," said Akhenaten. "Yes. I do need something from you all. I need you to help me find something very precious to me, and for you to witness my reformation as I replace it to its rightful home."

Rick glared at Evy. "What's he saying?"

"He wants us to help him find something," Evy said, looking worried. "To help him become whole again..."

"No," Ardeth said, hands tensing on the hilts of his swords and coming forward. Connie trailed after him, hands gripping his robes. "We must not allow this."

"No of course not," said Evelyn, glancing to Ardeth. "I just don't know how to say no..."

Rick snorted a smile of desperation, "You say - No!"

Evy sighed, looking to Akhenaten. "My companions are concerned with tampering with the natural order-"

"What of the high priests tampering with the lives of my people!" cried Akhenaten, his voice roaring through the structure of the room. Evelyn shrank back.

"I - I am sure that upsets you, but-"

"It is not sadness I feel," Akhenaten said smoothly, his voice creeping and dark like tar, but growing again to a resounding cry. "It is a grief so profound, that no man has ever felt the like. I am a king, stolen of my people! I shall bring them back, dear child, I shall be the man I was!"

Jonathan toed his way over to his sister, peeking over her shoulder at Akhenaten. "Er... do you think he counts as Evil yet, Old Mum?"

Evelyn winced, "I believe so..."

"Well? Wha'd he say that was so bad?" asked Rick.

"Er... something about bringing his people back and being again the man he was..." Evelyn fretted as Rick pinned her with an urgent glare. "But - even if we do try to stop him - what on earth are we supposed to do? The dirigible's gone, we're surrounded by Anubis' - erm - men, and we're miles from help!"

Rick stepped forward, setting Evelyn next to him and smiling thinly. "We play along, honey. Translate."

Evelyn looked to Akhenaten nervously. "Eh - uh - my husband, Rick, he wants to say something to you. Er - I'll translate."

Akhenaten folded his thread-bare arms, nodding shortly. Rick squared his shoulders and stared at the mummy.

"Whatever it is you want," he said, "We'll help you find it. On one condition though."

Evelyn looked between Rick and Akhenaten. "Er - Rick says that we agree to help you, as long as you agree to one of his conditions."

Akhenaten looked to Rick, tilting his head slightly. He tossed a swath of his gold-threaded robe over his shoulder, standing tall. "Tell me this condition."

"He says tell him the condition."

Rick nodded. "You explain your little curse in every single gory detail. Why you're up, how long you'll last, how many people you gotta suck up before you become immortal and how many become your slaves in the advent of your full resurrection."

Evelyn looked to Akhenaten and translated. As she did so, a low staggered laugh fell around the undead man in front of them, and he sighed. "Aah, he assumes much, my child," he said to Evelyn. "My rising is not a punishment. It is a second chance."

Evelyn crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. "Why would Gods that you do not worship, and obviously angered in some way, give you a second chance?"

"I was to be their face on earth," said Akhenaten, "A guide to the people and a leader to keep them strong. Without that leadership the people are nothing, and the kingdom will fall." The moving corpse tilted his head. "A God never wants their people to suffer."

Evelyn looked wary. "I don't believe you've answered my question."

"The Gods are merciful," Akhenaten said. "This is all I can offer you."

"I believe you owe us an explanation to the conditions of your resurrection," Evelyn said, "Otherwise you will not receive the help that you ask for."

"Evy," asked Rick in a low tone, "What's goin' on?"

"He's not divulging much," Evy said.

Rick cocked a brow, "Well he better _start_ divulging or I start hacking off limbs!" He lifted the sword in his hands and smiled thinly to the risen corpse.

Akhenaten looked to Evelyn, who stuttered with wide eyes.

"Er- my husband, that is to say--"

"He is not a friend," Akhenaten said, frowning thoughtfully. "I cannot allow him to bring me harm." With a wave of his arms he spoke to the jackal-headed warriors. "Capture them."

The warriors came forward, grabbing them all, clawed hands gripping arms roughly. They struggled, fighting to be free. The Anubis Warriors resisted their kicking and held them fast, expressionless faces looking forward.

Ardeth snarled, unable to pull himself away from the hold of the Warriors around him. He jerked and lunged, and his heart froze as he heard the terrified scream of the blonde woman next to him.

"No!" Connie shrieked, "Get off me!"

"Connie!"

She growled, and kicked at their legs with her heeled boots. The Anubis Warriors bobbed up and down as they tried to avoid the sharp strike of her heels. Ardeth felt sweat break out on his brow.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "You will make them angry!"

"Angry!" she said with a gasp, "What do you think _I _am?"

He gazed at her imploringly. "Please Connie!"

"Miss Adams, for the _last_ time!" she growled again, being dragged away with him towards the room. She looked behind her. "Evy! Are you okay?"

Evy hung in the arms of the Anubis Warrior that carried her, a wrinkle of thought in her brow. "I'm trying to figure out what the hell we're going to do now."

Rick, with a similar expression, struggled in the grip of the Warrior that held him. "We're going to kick ass as soon as we get free of these Dog-Men things."

"Anubis Warriors," said Ardeth darkly.

"That too," Rick nodded.

The group were handled with no great care as they were bustled through a side door of the expansive gold room that was the Main Temple. They were lead down a dark corridor lined with stone, deeply etched and painted and lighted dimly with low burning torches. The scenes were all in the style of the other carvings - large round stomachs, long limbs and extremities, long faces and full lips. Contradictory to all the Royal art before it and for some time after it, all echoing the appearance of the risen King in his prime.

An Anubis Warrior broke away from the group, walking to a lever buried deep in the wall. They didn't even know what he was doing till he made a violent movement and the wall began shaking and moving. It was a door, and it was opening. The Warrior grabbed a torch from next to him, and threw it inside the room with little care. He cocked his head at the door with a strange guttural growl, and the other Warriors proceeded to throw their prisoners into the room in a similar fashion to their Commander with the torch.

Jonathan was the last to tumble in the room that was a foot deep in sand. He turned and winced at his captors.

"Yes! Nice service here, old chum!"

The Anubis Warrior slammed the heavy stone door in response, the room being plunged into darkness. There was silence for a moment, everyone a little stunned from their experiences, and in that silence the mechanism in the door could be heard clinking and slipping into place.

Rick grabbed for the torch on the floor, almost put out by the sand that half buried it. He rolled it in his hands, letting it burn stronger, and stepping to the door he let the circle of light it created fall upon the seam it created in the wall. He gave a low rumble.

"No lock on this side," he said. "Damn it. What would these rooms be for anyway?"

Jonathan shrugged with a curled lip. "Maybe they're for storing virgin sacrifices?"

Evelyn and Connie turned their heads to Jonathan with looks of slight horror.

"Egyptians didn't perform human sacrifices in this era, Jonathan, and you know it." Evy sighed, squinting in the darkness around her. She reached forward, and plunging her fingers fearlessly into a mess of cobwebs against the wall, she dug out another torch from the dust. Touching it to Rick's she sighed. "I got us in trouble again."

"No," Rick said, pursing his lips as his wife lit her torch. "We weren't careful."

"It smells like old socks in here," complained Constance. "I'm going to be sick, I think."

Evelyn frowned and looked to Constance, staring at her a long moment. "Now that we've got the time to spare, I want to know what you did to Jonathan back there."

Constance smiled faintly, the gesture flittering off her face quickly. She turned, stepping behind Ardeth and clearing some dust from a foot-wide ledge that ran all around the room. Evelyn stepped forward, rising a brow, Jonathan behind her looking a little drawn.

"Yes, yes," Connie sighed, "It was nothing really, nothing."

Evelyn's eyes grew wide as she held herself. "I'm sorry, but it didn't look like nothing!"

Jonathan pushed his lips up in a troubled pout. Connie met those eyes, darkened with a tinge of fear, and she ran her hand over her other bandaged one.

"What I did was simple. That - thing - out there... he half explained it." Connie smiled nervously. "Royal blood... remember?"

Evelyn looked to Jonathan, who seemed to pale a little as he gulped. She looked back to Connie. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Well..." She pointed to Ardeth, who stood next to her. "He was the guard."

Jonathan looked back and forth between the women. "Who was what guard?"

Evelyn's eyes grew wide and she pointed to her husband, ignoring Jonathan. "Rick - he was the other one."

"Exactly," nodded Constance. "I was Ramla and Jonathan was-"

"Ramesses."

As the word dropped from Evelyn's mouth, she felt a recognition blaze through her. Blue round helm, galloping horses, cheering crowds and women - so many women. She shook away the visions, taking a hold of her brother by the arm.

"Evy," he said, brows tilted up in worry. "What are you both talking about?"

"I was Nefertiri..." she said, placing a flat hand on her chest. "We were all there, all in Ancient Egypt. I don't know _why_ we're all together like this... maybe that's the way things work but - I was Nefertiri, and you - you were King Ramesses."

It fell into place in Jonathan's head, and with a dawning smile, he chuckled. "Yes, very amusing. Now really here," He turned to Connie, "Are you sure that you've not got things mixed up a bit?"

Connie pouted, sitting up straight and looking a little indignant. "Obviously, your opinion of my gifts is lower than I originally thought."

Jonathan's mouth dropped open, and just as he was about to speak to his defence, Connie shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Jonathan I - " She sighed. "This afternoon has been a little unsettling."

"Understandably," muttered Ardeth, gripping the hilt of the sword at his side. Connie nodded, absently patting the tense hand on the sword and looking back to Jonathan.

"Jonathan, I can't quite remember what happened during my trance state, but I do know that before I went into it I intended to bring your past incarnation forward to be your... well... your present one for a little bit." She shrugged. "The personality we witnessed was-"

"Insane," grinned Rick tensely. Evelyn gave a nervous smile and nodded in agreement, Jonathan gulping in dread.

"Insane or not," Connie said, "That's who you were when Evelyn was Nefertiri. Whether that's Ramesses or some sort of warrior, well... that's for God above to know."

"Well Mr. Sun-Worship out there seems to think he's someone important," said Rick. "And when Jonathan is out of his mind like that, we have a fair chance of making sure we all stay in one piece so let's keep that little trick in mind shall we?" He eyed Connie deliberately at this.

Connie gripped her injured hand and frowned. "I only have so much skin on my hand, Mr. O'Connell!"

"The word you said," Evelyn said, stepping forward to Connie, "Over and over after you cut your hand... can you remember it?"

Connie frowned, looking down. "Uhm..." She squinted, wracking her brains. All she could remember was trembling and blood. She sighed, cradling her head. "I... damn it..."

Ardeth turned to her and gave a dark look. "I believe it was '_weben_'."

Connie glanced up to him, snapping her fingers and pointing to him. "That's it! _Weben!_"

Jonathan staggered suddenly, falling to his knees, his fall cushioned by the foot of desert sand coating the stone floor. He cradled his head, moaning. "Don't DO that!"

Evelyn spun about, kneeling and wrapping her arms around her brother. "Jonathan?"

He groaned, sitting up slowly. "God... my head..."

Pouting, Connie asked him. "What did I do to you?"

"Made me feel like I drank a bottle of whiskey and ran into a wall, that's what you did to me."

She frowned, covering her mouth in regret. "I am sorry, Jonathan. I didn't know it had that effect on you."

"Just don't do it again," he groaned, straightening out his mussed hair from the rough handling he'd been receiving in the last few hours. Behind him Rick examined the walls, the light of the torch flickering a burning orange over his hands as he went. He ticked his tongue, shaking his head.

"Don't think we have that luxury, Jonathan."

Jonathan immediately groaned, burying his head into his sister's shoulder. Evy blinked, then rubbed his shoulder.

"It'll be all right, Jonathan. We just have to find a way out of here."

Her brother gave a hollow laugh. "A way? Out of here?"

Ardeth looked about himself and then looked to Jonathan with a wry glint in his eye. "Sure - why don't you just kick something like you did before?"

Rick glanced to Ardeth, gave a huff of a laugh then continued to run his fingers over the wall. Jonathan groaned and rolled away from the Medjai, staggering to his feet.

"Very funny, yes, ha ha. Who don't you all just laugh at my expense?"

Rick wordlessly patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder before examining the far wall. The room was silent for a moment, Evelyn standing up to join her husband, Jonathan sulking in the corner, Ardeth taking a seat next to a thoughtful Constance. The mood of the room was a sullen one, stained with the darkness of fear. Evelyn tilted her head, reading the hieroglyphs as the light of the torch swept over them.

"Look at this, darling," she said to Rick. "It tells of the offerings to Aten, which was stored in this chamber." She tapped a picture of a wheat sheaf. "They'd store the wheat here in these rooms, and every festival of the Sun they'd open chutes that were built into the walls here and they'd pour out into troughs for people to take and make their special holy feasts with."

Rick eyed his wife. "How'd they do that?"

Evy frowned in concentration. "Said a prayer to Aten, ta... hmm... touching the sun? That's - that's what it says I'm afraid. "Pray to Aten, touching the sun."

Jonathan looked up at them wearily. "How on earth are we supposed to do that?"

Evelyn's eyes were fixed to the carvings before her. "I assume that it's a figurative instruction, Jona-" Her words dragged to silence as Rick moved the torch. "Rick!"

Rick brought the light up to the top of the carving, where a large stone sat in the wall. A large stone, cresting in a many-armed sun. "Maybe it's not that figurative, honey."

Evelyn's mouth gaped in awe, and Rick reached up to the yellow painted carving, pressing his palm to it firmly. The grinding low melodic sound of massive stones shifting deafened them, sand and dust raining down from the ceiling. Ardeth jumped to his feet, unsheathing his sword. Jonathan ducked and cringed in the dust-filled room.

"Careful there, old mate!"

A sudden scream filled the dust-dampened air of the room, and Ardeth waved madly in the dust, leaping to the wall where Connie had been sitting.

"Connie!"

Waving more through the dust, he grabbed the torch from Rick, bringing it to where Connie was. In her place was a dark hole, too small to be a doorway, but large enough to be a very big chute. He gripped the sides of it, shouting down the hole again.

"Connie!" He tilted his head, looking behind him to the others. "I hear coughing."

With a press of his lips, he sheathed his sword, and without another word he threw himself down the chute. Evy, Rick and Jonathan leapt forward, gathering around the chute.

"Ardeth!" cried Evelyn.

"He's mad!" Jonathan gasped.

"No, just not thinking with his head," Rick muttered. "Come on - let's go."

Evelyn glared at Rick. "But we don't know what's down there!"

Rick shrugged. "Gotta be better than what's in here." He grabbed the torch, holding it at the entry of the chute. "I can't see anything. I think it's curved..." He threw the torch into the sand and sighed. "Here goes nothing."

"Rick!"

He pushed himself off down the chute, letting out a 'whoop' as he went. It echoed up the small passage-way, growing distant. Evy grabbed her brother's arm and let out a short whimper before throwing herself down after her husband.

"Come on!"


	14. Stranded

**Chapter Fourteen**

The blackness around her buffeted her body as she rocketed down the chute, her cries stopping her throwing up from the rush in her stomach. It wouldn't have been so bad, but she was falling and sliding - backwards, head-first. As she shot downwards, she fought to turn over onto her stomach so at least her arms could protect her. She struggled, her shoulder thumping on the side of the chute as she went. She whimpered, tears streaming down her face as the pain of her shoulder and her hand wracked from their points and then through her body.

Suddenly, after a moment of ceaseless falling and sliding that felt like it went on forever, a light began to grow ahead. The light grew, and the incline she slid down began to flatten out. Her cries fell to frightened sobs, and then all at once there was nothing around her. No stone, no dust. Just light and air.

She screamed.

She felt herself soar for a moment, till she crashed into a heavy dusty fresh dune of sand, the front of her face and shoulders burying themselves into the sand, her body tumbling after her and driving her in further. Stillness. All was still, and very dark. Her arms were mostly free, however, so she grabbed onto the earth around her, and with a deep growl, pushed her way out of the dune. She fell backwards onto her back, coughing and spluttering, spitting sand and grit from her teeth, sunlight blinding her and rebounding off the sand around her. Her hair was almost grey from the dust she'd practically been bathing in, and her face was similarly caked. She'd had barely a moment to collect herself when a large heavy body shot out of the chute and slammed into her, sending her reeling in a tangle of limbs and dark robes.

She lay there, stunned, throbbing with pain all over. She opened an eye, looking to the man on top of her.

A similarly stunned Ardeth gazed back at her, as dusty as she was. "Connie!"

"Mr. Bay," she croaked, drawing a lock of hair from her face. "I would be endlessly grateful to you if you'd kindly get off me."

He looked about himself, then behind him. He nodded, rolling off her and dragging her aside. "I am sorry, I..." He stopped, watching her neaten herself gingerly.

She glanced up to him, a little crease in her grey-streaked brow. "Yes?"

He opened his mouth, but the distant sound of whooping filled the silence. For the first time, Constance had a good look at what she'd come flying out of. It was similar to other end, with a lintel over the top of the chute bearing the Sun crest of Aten. Barely a second later, Rick O'Connell came shooting out of the end of the chute with a tremendous cry, a burst of dust accompanying him.

He landed without any grace, right into the dune where Ardeth and Connie had just been sitting. Rick, too, had entered head first, so that was how he landed. He groaned, pulling his head out of the sand. He looked very strange, coated in greyish dust and his usually neat hair sticking out at all angles. He frowned at both Connie and Ardeth.

"You guys okay?" he called out, a weary frown on his dusty features.

Connie nodded, a wince on her face. "Yes but I'd-"

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-OOPH!"

A shot of long dark curly hair and leisure-suited limbs ploughed into Rick, sand sliding down onto the bodies as it was displaced by them.

Connie frowned, moving to get to her feet. "Oh dear..."

Ardeth placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ow!" She hissed, jerking her shoulder away. "I'm sorry, I - I hurt it."

"Do not be sorry. Sit." He took his hand away. "I will help them."

Ardeth moved over to the knot of bodies, pulling the struggling trio out of the offending dune one a time. Evelyn was the first to emerge, her steps uneasy as she tottered over to join Constance. Jonathan then staggered to his feet, shaking the dust from his curly and now very messy hair. He pointed at Evelyn shakily.

"You!"

She lifted her brows innocently.

"You tell your bloody husband to let you read the instructions before activating any," He paused, gathering both his balance and breath, "--secret bloody passageways!"

Rick, sitting at the bite in the dune where the three of them had been, even more caked with dust than before, groaned deeply. "That's gratitude."

Ardeth offered his hand to Rick, helping the man to his feet. He looked to the others.

"Come," he said, "We must keep moving, lest we be discovered."

Evelyn nodded, Rick plodding over to her side as she made it to her feet.

Connie looked ghostly as she stood, blonde hair lit by the sun, her face drawn in worry, arms wrapped about herself. "Where are we to go?"

Ardeth looked to her, moving her on with hurried steps. "First, away from here."

* * *

There was no fire, just darkness and sand. They walked for a clear mile away from Amarna, Ardeth keeping his eyes on the stars as they went. Silence surrounded them, for the deep desert they were in harboured mostly insects and reptiles - quiet rustling creatures. Their steps were long and tired, and every now and again a stomach would rumble, reminding everyone of the dire circumstances they were in. They were in the middle of the desert, five of them, with one day's rations of bread and water for one man between them. Not just any man, either. It was the rations of a man that had been born and bred to go on as little as possible if the situation required it. Ardeth's food was all contained in a small leather pouch that fit on his hip. Despite all this, the food was indeed a blessing, and they all thanked their respective Gods that Ardeth was so constantly well equipped for these desert adventures.

Ardeth could not thank Allah too ardently, however. His heart was heavy at what would lie ahead for them all. He knew the deserts of Egypt intimately - within new borders and old. The area they were currently stuck in was infrequently travelled, and for good reason. It lay far away from the trade routes followed from time immemorial by the Arab tribes of the area and beyond. The train line that hugged the Nile and dipped deep into the desert to run along few of Egypt's more stunning monuments and ruins was also many days ride from their current location. Amarna's supplies had long rotted away, and they were truly isolated from any help. The only hope they had was Izzy's return, however long that would take. Ardeth estimated it would take two days at best speed to reach the southern-most settlement of the First Tribe - his tribe. He hoped Izzy left the message with them, rather than trying to reach the main encampment closer to Hamunaptra. That way, it would be only three days for them to wait. With supplements from their surroundings, Ardeth could conceivably sustain them.

Rick would be fine. He could help Ardeth hunt for insects and snakes, and Jonathan... as long as he sat still and kept quiet, he would also be fine. The hot weather didn't seem to bother him or his sister too much, thanks to their Egyptian blood.

Constance however... Ardeth closed his eyes briefly, a heavy sigh dragged his heart deep in his chest. Dear Allah... how would she survive this? The desert she travelled through on their way to Hamunaptra almost killed her, and it was nothing compared to this deep and fierce wilderness. He could hear her panting in the darkness, her teeth chattering in the cold. For a moment, the softness of her hair against his fingertips and the smell of roses haunted his mind. He reached for the ties of his outer robe, pulling them loose and freeing the heavy garment from his body. With long, anxious steps, he made his way over to where Connie trudged ahead, her head hanging, her hair shining ever so slightly in the moonless night. Without word he threw the robe over her shoulders, wrapping her tight in it.

"Aah!" She jumped, whirling about inside the swaths of material and ultimately tangling herself in them. "Oh Mr. Bay what - now you really don't-"

"You are cold," he said, eyeing the direction of her voice firmly. "I shall not have you needlessly uncomfortable."

She gave a quick sigh. "But what about you?"

"I have told you before, I am used to these conditions." He tutted to himself then, tugging at the robe whilst Constance wriggled. "You must stand still if I am to fix this properly on you."

"Ohhh," She sighed. "I feel terrible. Look at that flimsy robe - you'll freeze!"

"I have two layers on now," he said. "You were freezing already. I shall not argue this further with you, Connie."

His voice had become soft, somehow tender. In the adjusting of the robes, he found her hands. She stilled, her breaths becoming shallow. Her voice was almost a whisper.

"I thought I told you to call me-"

"We escaped," he said. "It was a deal."

She glanced down to where she knew her hands were, giving a long thoughtful sigh. "Yes, I suppose it was..." She paused, but her hands still spoke, tightening around his ever so slightly. "...Ardeth."

He knew she couldn't see it, but he smiled anyway. He squeezed her hands briefly in return, relief falling through him. She accepted his help, and hopefully she would continue to do so. He dreaded the thought of her stubbornness causing her damage in any way. He looked to the others that stood ahead further up the dune, waiting patiently.

"Hey Ardeth, old mate," called Jonathan. "Shouldn't we make camp or something?"

"Not yet," he said, raising his voice to reach Jonathan. "We shall keep walking until the sun rises. When it begins to climb higher in the sky - we shall rest through the hottest hours."

"Why must we do that?" asked Connie.

"If we walk during the day, we will lose more water from sweating than at night," he said. "This, and the heat would not harm you so if you are still and cool during the worst hours."

"Sounds good to me," Rick called back, and turned ahead to keep on walking.

As they kept on through the night, Ardeth kept Constance close by, not only to ease his mind, but to have her as safe as possible.


	15. Alone and Crying for Help

**Chapter Fifteen**

Never before could Constance remember falling asleep on her feet, but as they continued their rising and falling path at first over dunes, and now over a more rocky and scrub-riddled plain, the pain in her body throbbed with every step, her eyes kept falling shut. Every now and again two large strong hands would set her right in her path, waking her as they did so, and every time it was Ardeth, guiding her carefully along. The group was silent, their steps the only sound to fill each other's ears, that or the heavy coughing required to rid the unveiled travellers' throats of the unending dust about them. As her eyes were closed most of the time, Connie didn't notice the glow that was now dominating the eastern sky, nor the slowed pace that the group had begun to take. Those hands were back on her shoulders, and now they stilled her. She found herself jerking awake, half-lidded eyes looking to the man next to her.

"What are we doing?" she asked, voice rough from the dust. She looked down, surprised to see the dark robes around her, momentarily forgetting she'd been given them to wear.

"Stopping for a time," Ardeth said. He knelt, trying in vain to clear a spot in the sand of rock and debris from the increasingly hard terrain around them. In front of them was a boulder, cragged and rough to touch. It was about the size of a small car, and would provide some shade until midday. Rick came to a stop next to Ardeth, watching him for a moment before kneeling down next to him. Evelyn stood next to Connie, putting an arm around her gently, a worried frown on her features. Rick regarded his wife for a moment before looking back to Ardeth.

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" he asked. "We're gonna fry out here."

"We will 'fry'," said Ardeth, using the colloquialism cautiously, "But it is better that we sleep and keep cool."

"How are we going to do that?"

Ardeth eyed Rick before removing the thicker robe around the last layers of his clothing - his black pants, boots and flimsy dark cotton shirt. He flapped the robe out wide, and lifted it in the darkness. "This will serve as shade." He looked to Rick. "Do you have your knife on you?"

Rick nodded, pulling out his knife and flicking it into place. He handed it to Ardeth, who wedged the knife in a crag in the rock, snagging the corner of his robe between the blade and the rock and keeping it in place. He lifted a large stone from the ground and pulling the other side of the length of fabric, he attempted to fix it into place.

Constance sat against the uncomfortable boulder wall, weariness making her eyelids feel as heavy as lead. Evelyn held her hand. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm tired," rasped Constance. "Hungry, too. The trance took a lot out of me."

"I have some food," Ardeth said. He crawled under the cramped make-shift tent the boulder and the robe made, crouching next to Connie. She wasn't quite sure how to react to him, her heart thumping strangely. She'd never seen him without his robes, in clothes that were very western. The balloon shirt and well fitted pants, his hair wild and free of his turban, made him look very much like a pirate, or an Arabian prince from the tales of old. He deftly untied the leather pouch of food from his belt. "Bread and dried meats." He looked to Rick. "It is dawn... we should try to find something more to eat before it gets too hot."

Jonathan looked to Ardeth with a puzzled frown, the material from the robe hanging about his head oddly. "There's nothing to eat in the desert is there?"

Rick smiled. "Oh, there's plenty of snakes."

"And bugs," Ardeth said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Jonathan shuddered, and despite the direness of their situation, Ardeth found it in himself to let loose a chuckle, patting Jonathan on the shoulder. Constance didn't hear much of it. She lay against Evelyn, blonde hair covering her face, dead to the world as sleep overwhelmed her.

* * *

When Constance woke, it wasn't the soft slight body of her best friend that she lay against. The familiar scent of sandalwood and musk filled her lungs, the firm wide form of Ardeth underneath her face. She looked to what her face rested on, and realised it was his arm. She rolled over, her body not complaining too much as she moved. Thank God, she thought. Perhaps she was getting used to all this hardship. As she settled again, she faced him. He had lain down behind her, letting her use his bicep as a pillow and his body as a rest. Now his face was only a couple of inches away from hers, his long dark lashes resting against his high coffee-toned cheeks. She gazed at the tattoos there, now able to examine them freely.

They really were quite beautiful, and as much as she tried to imagine his face without them, it seemed wrong.

A blush raged her own cheeks as, in the midst of her intent gazing, those dark brown eyes opened slowly. She shifted back a bit, her breath suddenly short. His hand wrapped around her upper arm, and she huffed. "Ardeth... are you taking liberties with me?"

He frowned, hurt splashing his eyes. "No..."

She looked him up and down, as much was possible in their cramped conditions. "Then why do you lie against me like this?"

He looked thoroughly confused now. "You asked for me."

"I did?"

He nodded. "Evelyn was laying you down on the ground... you asked for me."

Now she looked irritated. "I am sure I wouldn't have asked for you to lie with me so closely!"

"No, you didn't," Ardeth conceded.

Connie felt herself getting quite annoyed. "Then why did you?"

"I didn't."

"Then-"

"You lay against me yourself, Constance."

She sat up, folding her arms, the robe that sheltered them hanging about her. "Now really, Mr. Bay, I would think that if I did all this in my sleep that you would prevent me from embarrassing myself!"

Ardeth propped himself up on his elbow, looking rather tired and harried. "If we had the room to worry over such things, then yes, I would have." He frowned a little, embarrassment seeping into his features. "It didn't help that I was asleep also, and that we both ended up in that... position... by accident."

Constance blushed, looking down. "I'm sorry."

His hand ran up her arm, squeezing her shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for, _ya hilwai_."

She met his eyes, her stomach swimming and tingling warmly. She had no idea what those words meant, but they made her blush anyway. Perhaps it was the tone of his voice or the way he looked at her when he said them. Her breaths felt hot, her skin burning underneath where he held her. She blinked, her throat tight. "W-" A dent formed in her brow as she stuttered. "What does that mean?"

"It is an endearment," he said. "I will tell you some day. For now, get some rest."

Connie looked down at the space before her, a yearning swelling inside of her. She tilted her head, running her fingers through the sand and grit underneath her. "Uh... erm... may I..." She blushed, and motioned to where she'd been sleeping.

Ardeth simply smiled, laying back down and offering her his arm. Connie shifted back beside him, perhaps a little awkwardly, and slowly, she lowered her head to his arm, watching him as she did so.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked her.

She nodded, giving a breathless "Yes." He smiled again, laying his head on his shoulder, eyes following Connie as she lay timidly against him. She tried to sleep, tried to fall into unconsciousness like she did before, but the hard sand underneath her and the warmth of Ardeth next to her made it all a little impossible. She couldn't help but take pleasure in the exotic scent of the oils he wore, in the way his hair tumbled down over his neck and the delightful colour of the tanned skin it failed to cover. She spent the following and increasingly warm hours drifting between the edges of sleep and complete awareness doing just that.

* * *

Rick O'Connell looked to the skin, bones and guts that used to be a snake - an asp to be precise (which had to be _very_ carefully caught). He'd not eaten much of it, relegating the best of the meat to Evelyn and Connie. Not that they touched it too much. Ardeth insisted that they ate as much as they could stomach, that the meats had vital fluids in them that would help the girls against dehydration. Connie clutched the bag of dried meat and bread that Ardeth had offered her and eyed him warily, but after a little coaxing, she bit back her pride and swallowed the raw meat.

Both Rick and Ardeth had the joy of devouring some of the larger insects to be found, as well as some of the less tasty parts of the snake. All looked thoroughly miserable, and Ardeth found himself charged with not only helping them survive, but helping them stay sane with his often timely words of wisdom. Rick concentrated on looking after Evelyn and Jonathan. Evelyn was fairing much better than Constance in the given situation, her darker complexion and her past experiences in the Egyptian deserts aiding her resilience, as well as her Egyptian blood. Jonathan was similarly attuned, but being the sort of man he was, was much more vocal about his discomfort than his sister. The real point of concern was water. Food they had in abundance, but without water they were in deep trouble. They had the contents of Ardeth's water skin, and no more. If worse came to worse, they could try to milk the snakes they killed of blood. Ardeth assured them that by rationing the water they had it could last about three days, so it would not come to that too soon.

During the morning hours they slept, hiding under Ardeth's robes that were propped up by the boulder they'd settled at. They didn't move from it, as Ardeth thought that moving too far from Amarna would be unwise. They had to be positive Izzy would find them, and he wouldn't if they strayed too far from Amarna. It was the third day when the conditions began to get to Jonathan. Constance slept not only during the day, but during the night as well. The heat plagued her, even as she slept, her pale skin raging red when the sun climbed high in the sky. Ardeth watched over her, giving her a little more water than the rest of them. No one minded, everyone was equally worried for the fair-haired woman. Late that day, when the sun had begun to descend in the sky again, Jonathan was the first to wake.

He looked to the rest of the group. Evelyn was curled up with Rick, the both of them close and wrapped up in each other. Constance was laid out next to Ardeth, the both of them looking much more tentative and uneasy even in their sleep with the arrangement, but Jonathan had a feeling that that wouldn't last too long. He sighed, crawling out from underneath the shelter of the boulder. The sun wasn't very high anymore, and he guessed it would have been about four in the afternoon. There was an anxiety, a stress in his heart, the twisting ache of hope that was so easily beginning to crash into desperation. He missed having a decent night's sleep, a decent _cooked_ meal, fresh clothes and the sight of water. Oh... how dry he felt. His mouth felt furry, and it was all compounded by the dust that found its way into every orifice of the body. It was up his nose, in his ears, down his pants. There was a stirring at the camp, and from behind the boulder staggered a worn looking Rick O'Connell. He adjusted his pants, ran a shaky hand through his dust-matted hair, and sighed.

"Mornin' Jonathan."

Jonathan winced in the afternoon light. "Afternoon."

Rick looked about himself and sighed. "Oh yeah..." With a definite slouch in his usually impeccable posture, Rick pointed to the rocks that were strewn about them in the desert. "Time for breakfast I guess."

Jonathan gritted his teeth darkly. "Afternoon tea."

Rick nodded, waving a hand. "That, too."

Jonathan gazed out into the desert, valiantly ignoring Rick scrabbling around the rocks for his meal. He didn't want to see the proud man degraded so far as to be crawling for his meal. Rick let out a gasp, and there was a pitiful screech.

"Got it!"

Rick stood, holding up a limp but rather fat asp. "There we go..."

Jonathan just stared at Rick, but Rick ticked a brow.

"If I can find some more of these, we won't have to eat bugs."

Something within Jonathan snapped. He let out a whimper, and looking about him, he wailed. Grabbing the longest and sharpest rock he could find, he fell to the ground, digging madly, dragging it along and trying to make a dent in the hard compact ground. He grunted, sweat beading on his brow, the stone scraping away the lighter top surface and revealing the darker, more compact dirt beneath. Rick walked over, a confused frown on his face.

"Jon?"

Jonathan let out a growl, hacking away with the stone. "I am NOT eating snakes for the rest of my God-forsaken life!"

There was a flurry of hurried steps, and glancing up, Jonathan saw a panicked Ardeth race towards him.

"Jonathan! Stop what you are doing!"

Jonathan looked up. "Why?"

"You mustn't exert yourself in this sun, you will dehydrate."

Jonathan snorted. "I'd rather death come quickly if I'm to have snakes and..." He paused, face twisting in disgust, "Scarab beetles as my last meals!"

Ardeth shook his head, turning away. "You are being selfish. All of us are to watch you suffer, because you spent yourself in an act of desperation that we cannot remedy."

Rick tilted his head, examining the marks Jonathan had made in the sand. "He's... he's made the letter H... or is it I?"

"I!" cried Jonathan. "To be followed by Z, another Z and finally a Y! If we're stuck out here long enough, I'll add 'Where the hell are you?' just for effect!"

Ardeth looked down at the ground, then to Jonathan. "Actually... that is a good idea."

Rick nodded. "Very good. Jonathan - get in the shade. We'll finish this at dusk."

Rick and Ardeth caught another snake and a handful of beetles, and somehow convinced the maddened Jonathan to come back into the shade till sundown. Perhaps the heat was the more convincing of influences but never-the-less, as soon as it was gone, Jonathan was back out there with his rock, digging and hacking at the sand to create huge letters. Thankfully the moon was full enough to cast a little light on the scene (though not as much as Jonathan would have hoped). As a result, one Z ran a little into the next, and the letters curled about an invisible pivot point that was where Jonathan had obviously been sitting. Either way, it clearly said 'IZZY', in six foot letters.


	16. No Relief

**Chapter Sixteen**

Day number four began the same as the last. Ardeth's bread and dried meat had long gone, so Constance had begun to eat the snake flesh. She absolutely refused to eat any of the bugs, and the men graciously saved her from the harrowing experience of consuming raw insect innards. The poor woman looked thoroughly worn to her last nerve, her hair knotted, messed and thick with dust, her clothes pocked with holes and dotted with her own dried blood. Her lips were cracked deeply, some of the cracks raw and red with fresh vital blood. The pain of her condition was evident in her eyes, in the roughness of her naturally creaky voice. Ardeth was by her side, and unlike the days previous, he did not leave her. The worry in his face was enough to explain why. They were out of water, Connie drinking the last of it the day before. It would be day one of snake's blood, what little they could get out of each animal. Dehydration was a real fear now, and Constance, in her terrible state, was number one candidate.

Evelyn decided she wanted to see the sunset today. Perhaps it was their dire circumstances, combined with the deep fears she held for her childhood friend, but she needed to lose herself in something, to cherish the life around her. She sat against their boulder, watching the fierce glow in the sky where the sun had been, her large dark eyes to the brim with grief. She barely noticed her husband coming to rest beside her, but when she did, the burning of tears in her eyes was too much, a sob wrenching in her throat.

"It's my fault, Rick," she said softly. "You were right, again. Why do I keep doing this? Why do I keep risking the lives of others?"

"Evy..." He turned her towards him, running his thumb down her jaw. She frowned, eyes narrowing, refusing to let him make her feel better. "You can't change what's happened, and you can't blame yourself for something you couldn't control. This _was_ an accident."

"But... Connie is paying for my mistakes, Rick." The tears that threatened Evelyn's eyes spilled over. "I mean - she looks awful! I'm - I'm scared she's going to die, Rick. I'm scared that it's going to happen, and I can't stop it! All of this, all that we're going through, is because of me!"

Rick closed his eyes as Evelyn buried her face in his chest, deep sobs taking her. Evelyn wasn't usually so quick to blame herself for things, (Even though she probably should have been in some cases), and the very real danger that surrounded them bit into the carefully built security he'd maintained over the last few days. He'd believed none of them would die, that Ardeth would help keep them alive, that help would come any moment now.

The sky, however, was empty, and the sun had set. Their 'day' had begun, and Constance was now on borrowed time.

* * *

The process of bloodletting a five-foot snake was not one that a squeamish person could easily tolerate, but Jonathan was brave as Ardeth prepared the snake. The creature only squirmed a moment, and after a while, the movements stopped, as did its heart. Ardeth lifted the small cup that was attached to the water skin, and began by handing it to Rick.

"It will sustain you," he said, "Drink."

Rick gave a perfunctory wince, and bringing the small cup to his mouth, he took a sip. Saltiness burst on his tongue, warmth, and there was a vile stickiness to the substance that made his stomach lurch. He winced with all meaning now, and passed the cup to Jonathan.

"Chug-a-lug," he rasped, running his tongue around his mouth and trying to rid the taste of the blood.

Jonathan gave a vocal retch of disgust as the swallowed some of the red liquid, and shoved the cup away. Evelyn took it, sipping at the blood, her face twisted in similar discomfort but a look of determination on her face. She looked to Connie. The woman was resting against the rock, head bowed. Evelyn nudged her, and slowly, Connie lifted her head, eyes wavering opened and closed.

"Uh..."

"Snake blood," Evy said.

It was clear Constance was past the point of caring what she consumed. Her lips stuck together stubbornly as she tried to open them, and with effort she licked them. Evelyn helped her bring the small tin cup to her lips. Constance drank with little fuss. Indeed, she was happy to have some sustenance inside of her. She looked to Ardeth then, wearily, offering him the cup.

"No," he said. "I will be fine without any for some time yet. Please, continue to drink, _ya hilwai_."

Evelyn frowned softly at Ardeth, wondering what it was he'd tacked on to the end of that sentence, and what it meant. Knowing she'd probably not find out any time soon, she looked back to her best friend, helping her keep her hair from her face as the woman drank hungrily.

"Well, if that's all you want me for," said Jonathan, pushing himself up to his knees, "Then I'm going to keep half an eye on the sky!"

Ardeth looked to the snake he was beginning to cut up. "You do not want something to eat?"

Jonathan curled a lip. "No, no... I think I'll skip a meal for now."

Ardeth sighed. "Well... do not go too far. It is easy to lose yourself in the desert."

"Yes, I know." Jonathan replied.

Ardeth shuffled along in the make-shift shelter, settling next to Connie. Evelyn gave an uneasy smile, and shifted aside.

"You should sleep, Connie," he said, offering her a shoulder to lean against. "Your energy is low, and you need to conserve it as much as possible."

Constance didn't have the will to argue. She nodded, turning and lying against him, eyes falling shut almost instantly. Ardeth sighed, his heart feeling heavy once more. What he would have given to see her get that flash of defiance in her eyes, that proud independent spirit that made itself known at every given opportunity. Finally she was wilting, her beauty fading in ill-health. Ardeth found himself running a hand down her straggled, dirt-clogged hair. In Arabic he muttered ever so quietly, "Stay with me."


	17. Dust and Doffed Medjai Robes

**Chapter 17**

Jonathan had been staring into the glaring dunes for so long, dark hazy spots where undulating in the centre of his vision. He'd rub his eyes to rid himself of it, but it did no good, they were there to stay till his eyes got a rest from the bombardment of the merciless midday sun. He didn't care if he burnt himself in the sun, or if he sent himself blind. He couldn't stay under the robe-come-tent any longer, if not for the smell of raw snake flesh, then for the sight of the previously vivacious Constance brought to the edge of life itself. Even from the distance that he sat, he could hear her coughing. It could have been Evy though, and that possibility did not make him feel any better.

He glanced up to the sky, wincing in the agony of the searing white light of the sun. For a moment, a spot danced before his eyes. It wasn't like the other ones. The other ones were washy and he could see things through them. This one was small and dark and it stuck. He rubbed his eyes again, whimpering, thinking perhaps he should have gone in lest he blind himself. He slowly made his way to his feet, grunting in pain, his body heavy and tired. He glanced to the same part of the sky again hopelessly, and he noticed something. The spot did not travel with his eyes. It stayed very much in one place - in the sky. And it was roughly oval shaped.

He leapt up, jumping as high as he could, waving his arms madly and shouting with all his lungs could muster. "HEEEY! HERE! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

At this riot O'Connell and Ardeth came staggering out from their shelter, squinting at the sky, searching for the source of Jonathan's jubilation.

"There!" he wailed, "Can you see it! It's THERE!"

Rick squinted, then his eyes grew wide, a grin splashing across his tired handsome features. "Izzy..."

"YES! IZZY!" wailed Jonathan with glee, "That metal-toothed conniving little beggar better come this way or I'll throttle him!"

Rick looked to Jonathan, jaw a little lax. "Uh... did Connie hit you with the '_weben_' thing somehow or..."

Jonathan glanced to Rick. "What?"

"Never mind..."

"OVER HERE!" Jonathan raced forward, waving his arms wildly, leaping about in the bright midday sun.

Ardeth stepped over to Rick, a thoughtful frown on his features. "We will need to draw his attention."

"And Jonathan isn't doing a good enough job of that?" said Rick. He waved off a stern look from Ardeth, looking about with a purse of his lips. "I don't know what else we can do, Ardeth. We've got nothing to set fire to, so smoke is out of the question."

"We have other alternatives," said Ardeth with a knowing smile. "Come with me."

Ardeth took down the make-shift robe shelter. The girls had just enough shade to cover them, and as it was heading into the afternoon, the shadow would only increase. He gave the robe to Jonathan, who proceeded to wave it about like a large flag, still calling out loudly, even though there would be no way for Izzy to hear him at that distance. Ardeth lead Rick to a patch of softer sand in front of the shelter rock, and picked up a handful of it.

"Throw it in the air," he said. "The dust will cloud and float away."

"Clever," said Rick, and proceeded to throw about the dust, trying to get it as high into the air as possible. In desperation he began to scale the large shelter rock, and with hearty grunts he clambered up the side of it. He helped Ardeth up after him (for there was plenty of space for two) and he called to Jonathan. "Hey - hand us up some dust!"

Ardeth swung his outer robe in a wide arc like a flag, Rick throwing dust about in the air like a mad man. Jonathan jumped and leapt up and down on the ground, flapping his arms about, shouting out loud.

"D'ye think this'll work?" asked Rick, huffing from all his dust throwing and exertion.

"We will find out," said Ardeth.

Behind the rock, Evelyn cradled Connie in her arms, stroking her dirty blonde locks from her now worryingly pale face. Not for one moment did Evelyn stop worrying for her. She hoped upon hope that Ardeth's survival skills had been enough, and that they could bring Connie from the state she was in.

"Connie," she said, voice hitching as she spoke, "Do you hear the boys? They've spotted Izzy. It's not long now." She squeezed Constance as she spoke, jiggling a little. "It's not long now." Constance did not stir; she remained limp and unresponsive. Evelyn shook her a little harder now, the hitch in her voice slipping to a panicked whimper. "Connie, darling, please wake up! Connie!"

Jonathan heard the sound of Evelyn under duress and he immediately stopped his wagging and shouting. He turned, staggering behind the rock, his heart thumping hard in his chest. "Evy! Evy are you all-" His words drifted off as he turned the corner of the rock to meet the eyes of his sister.

She sat there, arms wrapped around her childhood friend, tears streaming down her red blotched face, her lips shuddering as she clutched a limp Connie tight to her chest.

"Sh- Uhm," Evelyn gulped, trying to control her tears, "She's breathing, she's - she's just - she's not waking up, Jonathan! She won't wake up!"

Jonathan dropped to his knees next to the women, patting Connie's face roughly. "Come on, then, Con! Wake up, sweety, we have the train ride back to Cairo to take, remember? Some nice white wine and a nice hearty English breakfast, eh? Come on then!" Connie did not even bat an eyelid as he slapped her cheek, and he stopped for a moment, letting the palm of his hand sit at her cheek. It was cool, worryingly cool. Jonathan looked to Evelyn a moment, his eyes dark, and he squeezed his sister's shoulder.

"He's seen us!" cried Rick from above, "He's comin'!"

"Good," called out Evelyn, then looked back down to the unconscious woman in her arms. "Let's just hope he's not too late."

Those ominous words caused Ardeth to cease in the waving of his robe, and he dropped it without thought, the large swath of material floating away as he turned and scrabbled down the side of the rock. He muttered her name under his breath as he sank to her side, shaking dirty hands sinking into her hair.

"What is wrong?" he asked Evelyn as he put his cheek over her nose and mouth to see if she was breathing. Relief splashed through him as a warm and light puff of air brushed his cheek. She was breathing, but not deeply and often enough for his liking.

"She won't wake up," Evelyn said. "I've tried to wake her, but…"

Ardeth carefully shifted Connie from Evelyn's arms, stroking straggled dusty locks from her porcelain skin. "Her skin is cold…" He smiled a little, despite himself. "This is a very good sign."

Evelyn looked to him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," said Ardeth. "But we must get her to some water immediately before her symptoms get worse."

The creaking and fluttering shape of the dirigible balloon eclipsed the rock they were all now huddled at, the excited shouts of Izzy now reaching them.

"Where the HELL have you been!" he wailed, "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Rick stood next to the rock, leaning against it, looking drawn and thin despite his thick muscular build, wincing up at Izzy as the dirigible settled onto the ground. "We were captured; we had to escape before they were onto us."

"Right," said Izzy, "So you run for miles into a dead empty desert where I can't FIND you?"

Rick frowned. "I thought you said you knew these deserts like the back of your hand?"

"I do!" said Izzy. "Usually you're not IN them, hiding behind great bloody rocks!"

"Jonathan, Evy - get in," sighed Rick, moving around the rock to have a look at Connie. He couldn't help but wince again at seeing her. Ardeth was next to her, looking stricken. It was the first time in his life he had ever seen the Medjai before him so pale. He put a hand on the man's shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yes," he said, "But Connie will not be unless we get her to some water, now."

"You need help?"

Ardeth shook his head. He stood, a little shakily, Connie limp and curled up in his arms. He stepped over to the dirigible, but it became obvious as he tried to climb up the ropes that the days without sustenance had taken their toll on him. Even with his desert upbringing, he couldn't survive such an ordeal without losing his strength some. Rick helped him, pushing him up the ropes, Izzy grabbing at Connie's arms and pulling her limp form up the boat.

"She all right?" he cried.

"Water," said Ardeth, "She needs water!"

"There, right there!" Izzy led them to an exceedingly large water skin, tipping it up and filling a tin cup with it. Jonathan fell to his knees, sticking his head underneath it and catching the water that spilt and splashed all about. Izzy frowned at him like a wayward dog. "What you think you doing? You can have some in a minute!"

"You're wasting it!" whimpered Jonathan.

Izzy rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the parched man. "There's plenty there and I got more below, so stop it."

He handed the tin cup to Ardeth, who was now settled on the ground, leaning against the wall of the dirigible with Connie in his arms. He edged open her mouth gently with his fingertips, speaking softly to her.

"_Habibti_," he breathed, and tipped the tin cup up so that the water trickled into her mouth. He massaged her throat, his brows knitted in concern, wiping away the drips of water that were on her cheek. Evelyn knelt in front of them both, mouth over her hands. "Evelyn," Ardeth said, "I need you to wet a blanket for me and bring it over. We need to wrap her in it."

"Yes, yes," Evelyn said in a stutter, turning and going to fetch these from the other side of the wheel house. She was soon back, and she carefully draped the wet soggy woollen blanket around the slumping form of Connie, Ardeth holding her upright a moment before letting the woman lie in his lap. He looked about himself.

"A cloth… I need-"

"Here." Izzy handed Ardeth an old rag from the wheel-house. "It's all I got."

"It shall be fine." He was at a loss for a moment, wanting to dip it in water but being stuck underneath Connie, till Evelyn knelt next to him carrying a bowl filled with what he was after. He sighed appreciatively to her, dipping the fabric in, wetting it, then giving it a good squeeze before running it over Connie's cool features. He breathed words that nobody could understand, presumably Arabic, brows tilted as he gazed at the woman in his arms.

"Will she be all right?" asked Izzy tentatively.

"If we get enough water into her, yes," said Ardeth. "We must also cool her off sufficiently. Although her skin is cold, her body is burning within."

Evelyn took the tin cup that Ardeth had abandoned and filled it again. "Well, we'll just have to make sure we get some more water into her."

"Salt!" Ardeth said suddenly. "You must put salt in the water."

"I got some below deck," Izzy said. "Hang a tick, I'll go get some."

Ardeth barely registered the goings on around him. His eyes were locked on the faint woman in his arms, her straggled frame, the dark circles under her eyes. The skin on her cheeks was raw from where she had been sun burnt and her lips were cracked and chafed. He remembered those lips being perfect ruby red swells that he was sure only existed in the fantasies of men. He didn't care for the perfection of her appearance, all his heart was set on was having those eyes open again, to hear her rough little voice and glory in her western quaintness. He did not want to let her go, and he swore to himself that he wouldn't. He was sure that this was all somehow his fault, that he hadn't looked after her properly. She didn't drink enough snakes' blood. He didn't keep her cool enough. His heart wound around itself like this, picking apart all that he did the past few days, thinking and wondering how this all would have been better if he'd done something different.

"Ardeth…" Ardeth glanced up, and before him was Evelyn, offering him the tin cup. "I dissolved some of the salt into it."

"Thank you." He couldn't manage a smile, but the gratitude was clear in his dark brown eyes. Evelyn squeezed his shoulder gently and sat back on one of the crates, letting the man set to work on getting the salty water into Constance.


	18. Aboard the Great Ship Dirigible

**Chapter 18**

The meal that followed, though perfunctory, was like the food of the Gods to the starved mouths of the desert survivors. Jonathan stuffed the bread, cheese and dried fruits into his mouth ferociously, chewing with glee on the salted meats Izzy provided. He dipped the thin bread into a little honey bowl, suckling on the sweet nectar and groaning in delight. He'd downed at least a litre of water in the first hour, and after all this he promptly passed out under a pile of blankets on the floor. Rick and Evelyn ate far more slowly, gazing at Connie with worry, sipping at their water. They went through quite a lot of it, for even if they were worried their thirst could not be denied.

Ardeth ate too, but he ate little, choosing to drink more water. He spent most of his time getting more salty water down Connie's throat, and mopping her forehead gently. He was so dedicated to this task that he did not notice Izzy step his way out of the wheel house, looking somewhat tense.

"Right… now you've all eaten, er…" He coughed, handing Ardeth a dirty old looking scroll. "Your friends wanted me to give this to you."

Ardeth took the scroll, his brows knitted with thought, but there was some relief in his eyes.

"They're coming to help you," Izzy said, a little meekly. "All of them. I barely had time to tell them what happened and drop Alex off before they restocked the dirigible and sent me on my way to find you."

"Thank you, Izzy," said Ardeth, bowing his head. Izzy waved a hand at him with a little frown, modesty taking the haphazard pilot. Ardeth wore a shadow of a smile at this.

His eyes soon fell to the scroll in his hands, and as he unrolled it a smaller roll of paper slipped inside of it poked out. He read it, then moved onto the scroll. "This is the legend of Amarna," he said, "I have not read this scroll before, but I have known of it." He glanced up to a very curious looking Evy. "We must be in some danger if they sent this to us."

Ardeth set to reading it, and the quiet minutes passed slowly. As he finished, he handed it to Evelyn, a heavy sigh leaving him. "Izzy… when you passed El Amarna, did it look different to you at all?"

Izzy frowned, rubbing his stubbly dark chin. "Now that you mention it… yeah. Looked like there was some digging goin' on."

Ardeth nodded slowly. "As I suspected."

Rick frowned too. "What does the scroll say?"

"It tells the story of how El Amarna was built," said Ardeth. "But more importantly, it tells of Akhenaten's damnation by the Gods, how they planned his doom, and how the stray followers of Aten in other cities banded together to save Akhenaten's soul."

Jonathan had woken to the talking, scratching behind his ear with a grunt. After listening for a moment he cast a confused look about him. "Oh? How is that going to help us?"

"It'll help us a lot," said Evelyn suddenly, eyes flashing on the page, "And it explains why Akhenaten is playing archaeologist all of a sudden. Here -" She pointed on the scroll. "It says that the Orb of Aten is the only way Akhenaten can save himself and the souls of his followers from eternal damnation. He needs the Orb of Aten to survive, and to try to create more followers."

"What's so special about this Orb?" asked Rick.

"Oh, it's a perfect round sphere of smoky quartz, flawless and orange in colour," Evelyn said, and with a glance to Jonathan, added, "Not worth very much compared to the other things we've found."

Jonathan sank a little.

"And it belongs in a niche at the Altar of Aten, in the great chamber of the Main Temple." Evelyn read further, finger dragging along the faded brown inked letters. "If Akhenaten gets his hands on the Orb, and puts it back in that receptacle, and says a prayer… prayer of -"

"Prayer of Reformation," Ardeth provided.

Evelyn nodded and continued, "Yes, Prayer of Reformation, then he'll wake the Aten and his old powers will be restored. He only has seven days to do this, and I'm sure that if he hasn't found it by now that he will be getting pretty desperate. But he very might well have found it. Either way, we would need to be sure."

Rick shrugged. "So we find it, we smash it."

"No," Evy said. "No, he'll still be around, and then he'll be dragged off into the Underworld where he'll live in eternal pain and agony."

"So?" Rick widened his blue eyes at his wife. "Honey - this guy tried to kill us!"

"No he didn't, Rick," said Evy. "He just wanted us out of the way. All the other writings of the Heretic King ever made indicated that he was essentially a good man - it's not his fault that his Kingdom was ripped away from him. That's why he's so angry, that's why he wants revenge. Besides - if we do break the orb, we will also damn the thousands of souls left behind by the destruction of El Amarna to the same fate as Akhenaten."

"So what do you wanna do?" asked Rick, "Let him take over the world?"

"Of course not," tutted Evy. "Here, it says if we replace the Orb in the niche, and recite the Aten Hymn of the Dead, then he will return to the blackness from whence he came, and rest for eternity, along with his followers. Rest, not agony. They deserve that at least."

"I agree," said Ardeth, "But keep reading, Evelyn."

Evelyn nodded, her eyes travelling down the parchment. Her hand shot to her mouth and she gulped. "Oh my."

Rick glared at her. "What?"

"Well, uh, should Akhenaten find this Orb that he's after, he will have control of not only the Anubis Warriors with them, but er - well demons they call them - undead beasts called akephaloses... or would that be akephalii?"

"Honey - what the hell's an 'akephalos'?"

Evelyn smiled stiffly. "Uhm… it's a Greek word… it's a… a headless wandering corpse. The only way to kill it is to separate its limbs from its body and stab it through the heart. What's left of it anyway."

Rick groaned, covering his face in his hands. "Oh brother."

"Quite."

Jonathan rubbed his hands together, smiling with a hint of panic. "Well, it's easy then, isn't it? Find this Orb and do the little prayer and it's all over isn't it?"

Evelyn eyed Jonathan. "We have to find it first. And then there's the business with the Anubis Warriors all through the place."

"Ah…" Jonathan slumped. "It always has to be tricky, doesn't it?"

Ardeth looked up from his patient and sighed. "I do not remember a time when saving the world was an easy task."

"Well what are we gonna do?" said Jonathan. "We don't even know where to start looking."

Rick shrugged. "We get kitted up and go in there."

"Wh-what if it's already destroyed?" asked Jonathan. "That means he'll just get taken into the Underworld on the seventh day! M-Maybe we don't even need to go back there!" There was an edge of desperation in the Englishman's voice.

"And the Orb might not be destroyed," said Rick firmly. "He might find it and then there'll be nothing we can do to stop him. We can't take that chance. We need to go in there and make sure he doesn't do anything we wouldn't do."

"But why is it always us that has to do this!" Jonathan cried. "I'm sick of nearly getting squashed and battered and stabbed and stuck with darts and buried in sand and pulled apart by boil-covered zombies and chopped up by creepy dog-men! I've had enough!"

"The answer to your question is simple," Ardeth said to Jonathan. He was quiet then, and merely looked to Evelyn. Jonathan turned his eyes to Evy, who huffed and let out a whimper.

"You don't think I feel bad enough as it is?" she said, "I've nearly killed you all, my best friend is unconscious and another power-hungry Mummy is going to take over the world - I simply did not ask for this to happen! I wasn't to know about the curse and this is not my fault!"

"All right, all right, all right!" cried Rick over the top of it, rubbing his forehead wearily with one hand whilst pointing to his companions with the other. He pointed to Jonathan, Evy and then Ardeth, "You! Calm down! You! It's okay honey. YOU! Stop provoking them!"

Ardeth bowed his head apologetically. "I was merely trying to point out that it is now our responsibility to put this creature to rest - one way or another - now that he has arisen from our disturbing him."

"Right," said Rick. "So… we need a plan."

Evelyn wriggled in her spot uncomfortably, the whole discussion beginning to stress her considerably. "Well, it's obvious what we have to do. We have to try to find the Orb."

"Well, let's stop yakkin' about it and get to it," Rick said, slapping his knees and standing up. "You know what they say; no time like the present."

"Once bitten, twice shy," mumbled Jonathan darkly, getting to his feet. "They say that too, you know. And what are we doing? Going off to get bitten again."

Rick looked to Ardeth as he propped his hands on his hips just above his gun holster. "What about you then?"

Ardeth glanced to Rick like he'd grown another head. "I must stay here and tend to Constance."

Rick ran his fingers through his straggled hair, and he knelt in front of the Medjai. "Listen, Ardeth, I know you're worried about Connie, but if we don't stop this guy then everyone is in danger, not just her." Ardeth looked down to Connie, cradling her jaw a moment as she slept. There was reluctance in his eyes, and Rick put a hand on his shoulder. "We need you, Ardeth. Please… help us."

Ardeth gave a heavy sigh, his eyes falling shut as he nodded. "Yes, of course… of course I will help you."

Rick sighed with relief, looking to Jonathan and Evy behind him. "Right. Evy, Jonathan - we're kitting up."

* * *

Ardeth stood in front of Izzy, fastening blades and guns to himself, setting on holsters and bandoliers brimming with bullets. He spoke as he did this, voice dour and direct.

"You must make her drink every fifteen minutes," he said. "Make sure there is a small portion of salt in the water."

"How small a portion?"

"Enough to fill the dip in the centre of your palm."

"Right." Izzy looked down to his own palm, sticking his finger into it. "Every fifteen minutes…"

"Yes. Do not take your eyes off her. Check her breathing, and keep her cool. Make sure she is out of the sun at all times, and keep food ready in case she wakes." Ardeth armed a gun in his hands and pressed his lips together. "Do not forget what I have said to you. If you do not heed my words and I will make sure you regret the moment you failed them."

Izzy blanched, stepping back. "Awright, awright, no need for that, I'll look after her, geeez…"

Rick and Evelyn exchanged a knowing look at this; they were in the middle of readying themselves as well. Rick shoved guns in holsters and even into belts. He also bore scimitars, given to Izzy by the Medjai, and daggers. Evelyn also wore these things strapped to her body, and she looked strangely comfortable with them on her. More strange than this, even haunting, was Jonathan strapping the same blades to himself. Unlike any time before, he seemed to have an instinct on where to place them, on how they should have sat. Now he held a blade in his arms, his hands wrapped in rags to the elbow, running a sharpening stone from blade tip to hilt, his eyes distant and his jaw set. There was no fear in his features, (though he was frightened to the bone) but a quiet acceptance. He looked more a soldier than a fool.

Ardeth stepped over to the pile of blankets and cushions where Connie rested, and kneeling before her, he leant to her, stroking her face softly. "Be well, ya hilwai," he breathed, "I will return to you." He brought his lips to her forehead then, pursing them gently, a frown creasing his brow at the coolness of her skin. He sighed, touching his brow to hers briefly before pushing himself away. "I am ready," he announced.

"Good," said Rick. "Then let's go. We haven't got a moment to waste."

Ardeth nodded, following Rick and Evelyn to the rope ladder that clung to the curve of the floating dirigible. Izzy set it down half a mile away from Amarna, right in the direction of the path from the oasis south of Hamunaptra. As Rick, Evelyn, Ardeth and Jonathan disembarked, Izzy leant on the railing, frowning down at the intrepid warriors.

"Now you remember! The city's THAT way!" He pointed in the general direction of Amarna. "And the very SECOND that the Medjai show up, I'm outta here!" He grumbled shaking his head and waving a hand at O'Connell. "Nearly getting myself killed because of you, crazy bloody American."

Rick shook his head as the group set off for Amarna, this time well equipped for the desert clime. It was hard going in the broad sunlight, but with water and bread for twice their number stuffed into Rick's back-pack, they didn't feel it so much this time. They were quiet, and didn't say anything as they approached the city. They were preparing themselves for the fact that they may very well not leave alive.

Soon they grew close to the walls of the city. Amarna, though half exposed, was still an awe-inspiring sight. There were a number of tall columns that survived being buried under tons of sand, and the main thoroughfare, lined with proud lions facing a great wall with the Aten upon it, and several huge statues in Akhenaten's likeness, was battered considerably due to the shifting sands that had encased it all those years. Huge tall flat pylons reached up from the entrance of the Main Temple, and at the gate of the city. They were etched deeply with loving portraits of Aten, spindly arms reaching down from a round deeply cut disk, ankhs clutched in the delicate little hands. On either side on the pylons reached up the strangely crafted forms of Akhenaten and his family, hips bulbous, thighs large and curving, feet long and thin, arms equally as feeble. Between the pylons was an Aten-decorated lintel like they had seen before, and beyond them the temple had been unearthed far more than had been previous. Where before an enclosed and dark space was now great stretching courts that were open and free were bared, leading to another grand set of pylons similarly carved to the rest. Beyond this was the bigger, more intimidating temple they had been in before. It was clear now that unlike the rest of the buildings that were hewn and built from dirty yellow rocks from the earth, the temples were lovingly crafted from the whitest of stone. They were proud, strong despite their ruin.

Evy gazed at the ghostly courts before her, and then to the gates of the Aten Main Temple. "We must have walked straight past the opening pylons and into the temple… look at all of this… it's beautiful."

Rick narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the temple around him. "Sure. Let's just try to find this Orb."

Evelyn slowly pulled herself away from the sights around her, and she crept into the temple. Unlike the days before, the temple was eerily empty. Every bit of sand and dust had been cleared from the place, and it was chilling to see it so clean and free of detritus.

"He must have searched this place," said Ardeth, looking about.

"We should have a look over anyway," said Evelyn. "Just to make sure."

Ardeth frowned, looking about himself. "I do not think that is wise. He would know this place very intimately, for he treasured this city above the good of Egypt itself. We should observe where they are digging to ascertain whether they have found it or not."

"Hmm… all right," said Evelyn, stepping up to the altar, climbing behind two sarcophagi and some ceremonial plinths topped with empty bowls. Amongst a mass of delicate hieroglyphs inside a cartouche carved upon the wall was a small hollow lined with gold, a round pit carved into the bottom. Evelyn ran her hands along the cavity there, awe in her heart. "This is the niche."

"Lovely," said Jonathan with a strained smile. "Now let's get out of here before something awful jumps out at us."

They all agreed to this, and crept out down the sprawling thoroughfare towards the main city.

* * *

Izzy cut up some bread and fruit, laying it next to the unconscious Constance. He then took a wetted rag, drawing and patting it over her forehead, and with a sigh he took up a tin cup, filling it with water and sprinkling in some salt.

"Do this, Izzy, do that Izzy. Fix the ruddy dirigible with nothing but your arse, Izzy!" He tilted up her head gingerly, trying to get the water down her throat. He wasn't sure how Ardeth managed to do it, but he'd gotten an awful lot of water on Connie's front rather than in her mouth so far. "What do they think I am? A bloody miracle worker?"

Constance, being unconscious, said nothing in response to this.

"Just a bit more," he said, getting the rest of the cup of water into her mouth, and hopefully down her throat. "Now, I'm going to get some dried meat. Don't you go anywhere." He frowned and pointed at the unconscious woman before trudging off below deck. Just as he slipped down the trapdoor in the floor, he heard a scuffling. He jumped, glancing about him. All the talk of dog-men and headless demons had unnerved him enough, but being around O'Connell at the time during all this mess was enough to send him into a state of utmost paranoia. He narrowed his eyes, glancing about him. He waited for a few moments, but when nothing else happened he crawled down under the deck. He found the boxes of salted dried meats, and as he dug out a couple of softer pieces, the deck above him creaked. He froze.

"Connie?"

There was more scuffling - little footfalls. His mind suddenly leapt to pygmy mummies. He quickly berated himself after that. They were sucked up and long gone. He closed up the box of meat, and wrapped the rest in a clean swath of cheesecloth. He climbed up above deck, grumbling and kicking at the planks as he went, staring at his feet as he was wont to do.

"Don't know why I bloody put up with it all I - AAAAAH!"

Body, person - THING - there! It took a moment for him to double take and register the short little thing person next to Constance as a terrified and open-mouthed Alex O'Connell.

"YOU!" he wailed, "What in the bloody BLAZES are you doing here!"

"Cripes, Izzy!" he cried back, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack!"

"No!" Izzy pointed at him. "This isn't about me, this about you being where you're not supposed to! I left you in that ruddy tent back at the oasis! What in God's name inspired you to sneak here and where the HELL have you been hiding!"

Alex sank a little, looking down to the fruit in his hands. "I was hiding under the deck… and I wanted to help Mum and Dad."

Izzy sighed, trudging over to the boy and sitting down next to him. "I think they'd be okay without you."

"Last time they weren't," said Alex. "Last time if I hadn't had been there, Mum would have been dead. Stayed dead I mean."

A dawning look came over Izzy's dark eyes, and he nodded slowly, patting the child on the shoulder. "I get it. Well - shouldn't be too bad if you stay here with me, and leave the fighting to your parents, all right?"

Alex sighed. "All right."

"Right. Now… what was I doing?" He glanced down, seeing the wrapped meat in his arms. "Oh - yes! The meat."

Alex lifted his brows, looking a little pitiful. "Could I please have some?"

Izzy double glanced at the child. "What? You mean you've been trapped under deck all that time and you didn't take any food?"

Alex looked sheepish. "I didn't want you to notice I was here, so I only took very small bits, and hardly ate."

"Go on then," he said, laying down the meat with the fruit. "Tuck in. Doesn't look like she'll be having any anyway." He pointed to Connie unconscious in the blankets. Alex frowned as he looked down at her, and he knelt on the floor next to her.

"I heard Ardeth before and he sounded worried. Will she be all right?"

Izzy looked to the child. Hope was in the boy's eyes. He wondered if the same hope was in his own heart. He'd seen a lot of heat exhaustion cases from past clientele. Sometimes it slipped to heat stroke, and the end result of that wasn't pretty. He plastered on a reassuring smile and thumped the boy on the shoulder.

"Sure, she's just sleeping. Needs to sleep it all off."

Alex's eyes immediately narrowed, and he tilted his head. "I'm nine years old, I'm not stupid."

Izzy glowered for a moment, before rolling his eyes. "Right, right. She's still unconscious, all right? It's not looking too good. Is that better?"

Alex looked to him, then to the lady next to him, and sighed. "No, not really, but at least it's the truth."

Izzy nodded, slapping the young boy on the shoulder. "Good lad. You stay here, keep an eye on her for a moment. I've got to answer nature's call."

Alex smirked a bit and nodded, looking down to the dried salted meat in front of him. His little stomach rumbled, and reaching forward, he began to rip into the food, tearing off a piece of meat, placing it on a metal plate with some sliced fruit and flat bread. He then poured himself a drink of water. He sighed happily, his guts twisting in anticipation. His hands almost shook as he brought the first portion of food to his mouth, the salty spiced meat a joy to his taste buds. He devoured the food hungrily; the flat bread was flavoured with sesame, the cut up apple and banana only a touch brown from sitting out for the past five minutes but still sweet and delightful. He didn't realise that as he went, the chewing and the ripping released the smell of the food he munched on, the meat being most intriguing to a hungry belly.

He was so engrossed in consuming his food that he didn't notice any movement next to him. Not until the pale hand dropped heavily on his arm.

"AAEEEEEH!" He leapt up with a throat-ripping shriek, thoroughly spooked by all the previous talk of the Anubis Warriors, akephaloses and walking Mummies. It wasn't until he stopped dancing on the spot and actually turned around that he saw that the unconscious blonde woman next to him was now wearing a tired smile, her eyes heavily lidded, but open.

"Dear me, Alex," she breathed, "What a wonderful performance."

"Connie!" he cried with glee, and ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly in a hug.

Connie hadn't the energy to do anything but blink with amazement. She hadn't realised that the boy was that attached to her.

"Bloody hell, what's all the screaming- Miss Adams!" Izzy raced over from behind the wheel house, collapsing to his knees in front of Connie and taking her hands, eyes closed and relief splashed over his likeable features. "Thank GOD you're all right."

Connie sat up a bit, her smile widening. "Well… what can a girl say to such a reception?"

"Are you hungry?" asked Alex, "Here's food - lots of food. And salt if you need it. And water."

The little boy was very excitable, and no sooner said than done, he handed her a plate burgeoning with food.

"I was going to ask you if I could have some before you started wailing like a harpie," said Connie, her eyes betraying her hunger. She ripped at the food like Alex had been, eating it slowly for it was all she had the energy to do. Had she the energy of Alex, she would have wolfed it down as fast as he had.

"I'll get you some honey for that bread," Izzy said, getting up and traipsing down into the deck.

Alex smiled at Connie as she ate, his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it on occasion. "I'm glad you're all right, Miss Adams."

Connie smiled faintly at Alex around a mouthful of flat bread. "So am I, dear. Say… where is everyone?"

Alex sighed then, looking down. "They've gone into the city. They're going to try to find that Orb."

Confusion splashed on Connie's drawn features. "Orb? What orb?"

Alex got up, looking at the deck around him. He scratched his head, mumbling to himself as he searched the scene around him. Finally he dug about inside the wheel house, and with an "Ah ha!" he came out, waving an old manuscript in his hands. "They sent this for Ardeth. It tells all about the legend of El Amarna." He sat down next to Connie, showing her the flowing Arabic script.

Connie sighed with a tired smile. "Alex, I can read exactly three words in Arabic. Train, toilet and food. And unless you can read Arabic, you'll just have to relay the story to me."

"I can read Arabic!" said Alex. "A bit. I should be able to remember most of this anyway. Let's see…"

Alex read out what he could to her, fumbling on some words but being able to clearly describe the Orb of Aten and its function, and its role in the legend, all the while Connie eating heartily. After he finished reading the scroll, Connie was silent, a frown of thought on her features. Alex put his hand on her arm.

"Miss Adams, are you all right?"

Connie blinked, gazing at Alex distantly. "Yes… describe that orb to me again?"

"Round, Ardeth said it was about the size of a grapefruit. It was made of… here it is - smoky quartz. Orange in colour."

A smile broke on Connie's face and she shook her head. "It couldn't be… it just couldn't…" She jumped up, and then grabbed for the side of the boat, knees buckling underneath her. Alex reached for her, trying to help her up.

"Careful, Miss Adams, I can't hold you up!"

"I'm sorry," she sighed, "I think I need a little more rest before I go bounding about like usual." She gave a weak smile and lowered herself back down onto the blankets upon the ground. "Alex, be a dear and get me my bag from the hold. You know what it looks like, don't you?"

He nodded. "The impractical flowery one."

She narrowed her eyes at the boy with a humouring smile. "Yes. Go on then."

She heard him bump around down underneath the boards of the deck, and after a moment he returned, Izzy with him.

"What's he doing?" he asked, pointing to the kid.

"Fetching something for Miss Adams," Alex said. "Here…" He dumped the bag in front of her.

"Careful!" she said, "Aah." She opened it, digging around inside the expensive luggage piece, packed to the gills with all Connie could manage to put in there. It wafted of flowery perfumes and clean clothing.

"What makes you think this is the Orb of Aten?" he asked, shuffling closer to her to get a good look inside the bag.

"I don't think it's the Orb of Aten at all, my dear boy," she said, eyes fixed to the innards of her bag. "Though it sounds exactly the same as the Orb. Same size, same kind of stone. Flawless, too. Cost me a bundle." She finally got a hold of it, wrapping a shirt around it and pulling it from the bag. She lifted it up. Alex gasped, and for good reason. The beautiful orb of smoky quartz burned gold in the bright Egyptian sunlight. Its orange and yellow hues were intoxicating, and they set a warm glow on Connie's features.

"It's amazing," Alex gasped. "Where did you get it?"

"Antique dealer," Connie said. "He said it was from around these parts… Cairo or Istanbul… somewhere like that. I'd say it originated from a quarry somewhere in Australia or Africa or someplace. Cairo! Ha."

"Won't this mean Mummy fella know the difference?" asked Izzy.

Connie pressed her lips together with a brash smile. "Maybe, maybe not. Currently, we need to get rid of the beggar, and an Orb will do to help us with that! Real or no!" She looked to the plate of food in front of her, and started ripping up some bread and meat. "Better fill up," she said, "And then I'm resting. I have some fun and games in front of me."

Izzy blinked at her. "Fun and games? Fun and games!" He crouched in front of her, glaring at her with dark eyes. "You do realise what Ardeth would do to me if anything happened to you, don't you?"

Connie's eyelids fluttered a moment as she considered the question. "Well, he can't do anything if he's _dead,_ now, can he? And he will be if we don't beat this demented rotting corpse at his own game!"

"They're both gonna kill me," Izzy muttered, sitting down next to Alex and laying his head in his hands, "First O'Connell's gonna 'ave a go, and then Ardeth is gonna bloody-well finish the job."

Connie smiled, laying down on the cushions and blankets. "I wouldn't worry too much, Izzy. I'm prepared, this time!"

She was excited, and that made going to sleep a little harder than she would have liked, but her body seemed to be more eager for rest than she was, and in the end it won out.


	19. Into the Fray

**Chapter 19**

The main thoroughfare of the city bent sharply to the south-east, as a huge temple, that was ironically only a minor temple compared to the larger one they'd been in moments before, was in the way. Rick sighed, wondering where the hell they were supposed to go next, but Evelyn had pointed the way with a cool smile, as it was rather easy to see where to go next. They clambered round about the temple, following the trail of excavation that Akhenaten had unwittingly left for them. It was a hot, dusty and awful walk, and they were not afraid to dip in and sip at their water supplies (All except Ardeth, who was very used to these conditions). The rest of the city seemed to be composed of workshops, hastily built apartments and various craft facilities. The workshops spread out to the south, mostly decimated by the shifting sands. They were not made of the same stuff as the temples; they were not made to last. To the south-west were the potteries, the distilleries, glassworks, timberworks and wicker wares. It was here that the latest efforts of excavation were taking place, and the dust in the air became thicker and more choking. Evelyn took the lead, gripping the weapons at her sides, Rick close behind.

"Getting a little carried away isn't he?" he muttered with a cocked brow.

"Well, his life _does_ depend on it," Jonathan offered.

Rick nodded.

They found a very nice wall filled with holes and it was somewhat crumbled; it had been a part of the workshops. Thankfully a nice taller wall gave them some shade behind them. They were lucky enough to have a wonderful view of the site, and Akhenaten barking orders to his borrowed minions. They crouched down, eyes every wary upon the undead King.

If it was possible for a dried-out corpse to look tired, this one most certainly did. His voice was heavy, still resonant in its unearthly magic, his long spindly wiry arms pointing this way and that and frantically motioning to digging Anubis warriors. They were obviously looking rather put upon. They were not made for digging, they were warriors. They most certainly were not pleased with the labour they were given to do.

Evelyn licked her lip, a thoughtful frown on her face. "Well… it seems pretty clear he hasn't found it yet."

"Indeed," agreed Ardeth.

"Gosh… how many days would they have been searching now?"

"Seven," Jonathan said. "We were nearly stuck in the desert for a week."

Ardeth nodded. He then looked about them, back towards the direction they'd come in loomed the secondary temple. "You know, there has been much sand flowing through these ruins for thousands of years. The objects inside these buildings are often moved in the shifting sands. I would not be surprised if the Orb has shifted too."

Rick blinked at Ardeth. "You're kidding me…"

Jonathan cocked a lip, shaking his head. "No… no it wouldn't have moved that far. Not so that he couldn't have found it."

Evelyn didn't say anything.

Ardeth shrugged. "It was only a theory."

"What we need to concentrate on is keeping him out of trouble," Evelyn said, pointing to Akhenaten. "And making sure he doesn't find what he's after."

Jonathan sighed fitfully. "Well what are we going to do? Sit here and spy on that withered old corpse until he finds something?"

Rick sat back onto his bottom, crossing his legs and getting comfortable. "If you've got another suggestion…"

Jon sighed, leaning his head in his hand. "Great."

Ardeth shook his head lightly. "I would not get too comfortable. We must be ready the moment he has found it."

"If he finds it," Evelyn said, looking troubled.

Ardeth shrugged. "We shall see."

They all settled deeper behind the wall, as it seemed they would be there for quite some time.

* * *

Connie slept soundly for three short hours, the dirigible gently quiet. The balloon swayed silently, the ropes creaking against the sealed canvas as it drifted back and forth. She had almost become used to the ship-like noises it made, and they had helped her rest. Her nerves and her determination would not let her sleep any longer, so she sat up, tucking into the bread and dried meat that she had been feeding on earlier, making sure she left the dirigible as full and fit as possible. Alex was curled up on a corner of the blankets Connie had been sleeping on, napping lightly, looking rather like a dishevelled labrador puppy.

It slowly occurred to her that her expensive luggage would simply not be practical for her march into El Amarna. She needed some kind of bag, and Izzy kindly led her down into the hold, digging through the supplies for anything useful. They were lucky enough to dig out a heavy canvas knapsack, worn and dusty, one of the buckles bent a bit out of shape. It still served its purpose however, and Connie began darting about the dirigible, stuffing supplies into it. She put in all that she could imagine that she'd find useful: food, a drinking flask, spare shirts, most importantly - her crystal ball, and finally, Izzy handed her a beaten old pistol.

"It's only got four shots left in it," he said, staring at her firmly, obsidian eyes glinting with worry. "Don't waste 'em!"

"I won't," she said with a brash smile. "Thank you Izzy!" She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

Izzy shook his head with an embarrassed smile.

As Connie rushed this was and that, preparing herself, Alex stirred from his sleep, a frown of confusion on his young lightly freckled face. He watched Connie a moment, and a look of dawning realisation became him.

"You're going to go now, aren't you?"

She sighed, looking away. "I… I have to Alex."

He nodded, pressing his lips together. "Just be careful." Connie glanced to him then, and he added; "Those Mummies can be tricky."

Connie, again, found herself in a situation with Alex in which she was totally lost. What did one do in such a position? Pat the boy on the head? Smile? She knelt in front of him awkwardly, eyes roaming over the tousled hair and the grim expression on a face too young to hold it. He enclosed his small grubby hands in hers, smiling to him with a mirroring grim smile.

"Tell you what, Alex. When I make it back from that city, I promise I'll go into a trance state and find out what your past life was, okay?" It was a strange thing to promise, but considering everyone else around him knew who they used to be, it only seemed natural. Alex smiled at this, and Connie grinned. "Poor lad. Must be a bit odd to have a strange old bird like your Auntie Connie around…"

Alex shook his head, but then his expression cleared, and his eyes gleamed. "…Wow."

"What?"

He swallowed nervously. "I've never had an Auntie."

"Well now you do," Connie said. "An Auntie that wants very much to return and help your parents make sure you grow into a wonderful man."

Alex sighed happily. "Just look after yourself or you'll be the shortest lived Auntie in history!"

Connie laughed. "You are so like your father."

Alex's brows dipped down. "I'll try to take that as a compliment." Connie looked shocked for a moment, at least until Alex smirked. "Just joking."

At that Connie ruffled his hair. "Watch your backs, and make sure those Medjai find us!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Alex looked like he was itching to salute her. She ruffled his hair again, dropping a kiss on the top of his head before hitching her knapsack over her shoulder.

She turned to Izzy. "See you, Izzy."

Izzy sighed fitfully, walking her over to the side of the dirigible. "You be careful!" he barked. "Keep an eye out for those warrior things, and remember!" He pointed to her sternly, deeply-brown eyes bugging. "Four shots!"

"Four shots!" Connie nodded back at him, pointing too.

Izzy nodded again, eyeing her worriedly as she climbed over the edge of the dirigible. He sighed again as she carefully made her way down the rope ladder. "Good luck!"

Connie waved back with a brash smile and jumped down onto the sandy earth. It hissed and gave under her feet, and with a grit of her teeth she toed her way to the once hidden city of El Amarna.

* * *

Connie was amazed at the change the city had gone through in the four or five days it had been since she'd been there last. Great quantities of sand had been moved, and large bites of earth seemed to have been taken out of the surrounding landscape. _He must be looking very hard for that orb_, she thought_. Let's just hope he hasn't found it yet!_ Her eyes darted at the slightest movement, and her heartbeat began to climb slowly. Beads of sweat formed on her brow, her cheeks and top lip. The main thoroughfare was a wide, grand road, and worn, tired looking lion-topped plinths lined it with a sad distant majesty. She allowed herself to gaze at them only a moment before hurrying on to the temple ahead. This too had been emptied of sand and dust, and now gleamed handsomely in the light allowed to filter in from outside. She did not let herself tarry here; she saw that it was empty of any supernatural forces, but eager to be on with her quest, she moved on quickly.

As she stepped outside, she noticed footsteps in the sand. There were that of sandals, many of those, and in one tight set of prints were sturdy boot prints, heavy and flat, the elegant heel of a woman's boot, the nervous steps from a pair of British loafers, and then the sure and steady pace of riding boots… Her heart leapt and she followed them carefully… _Ardeth…_

The tracks led round and about a slightly smaller but similarly grand secondary temple, and it was here that the hairs on the back of her neck prickled and stood on end. She crouched, retreating into the stark shadow of a tall heavy stone wall. She looked all about herself, but she could see nothing. None-the-less, the feeling was still there…. _She felt like she was being watched!_

She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, trying to get a hold of her senses so she could figure out what to do now. She worked to relax her mind, letting it open in a hope that she could perhaps sense what - or who - was nearby. The tendrils of her mind reached out, and it was easier to feel than she imagined it would be. She'd been training herself so hard back home in Britain to little avail, yet here the spirits rushed her, eager to use her conduit nature, filling her every cell with an awesome hum. _Egypt_, _what have you done to me? _ She felt her concentration pulled this way and that, impatient souls bombarding her with flitting pieces of memories, messages, important to them but useless to Connie. _My favourite hound_, one voice rushed her, _that we buried in the mound near the hill… Never work for such a man again,_ came another. _And all for Pharaoh I lived, good son…_

"Get out of my mind," she moaned under her breath, clutching her head. "Please help me or leave me!"

Of a sudden, a great light called her attention. It was golden, warm, brilliant, and in pulled her heart in such a way that it stilled her as her mind's eye settled upon it. It made her entire being feel as though it were glowing too, glowing with it, to it, joining with it. It was as if she were always meant to be with this light. She thought that maybe she should have been afraid, but it just wasn't within her. She felt so safe with this light. It was surrounded by other lights, different to it yet as bright, but it alone seemed to call to her, yearn to envelope her.

_So beautiful_, she thought, _so magnificent._

She let her sight draw nearer to it, and as she closed in it suddenly all made sense. It began to shift and look as a falcon, this spirit-thing, and she could see, beyond the falcon, warm brown eyes. _Ardeth!_ She thought, a gasp in her throat. _I'm sensing Ardeth!_

Then, darkness leapt closer, creeping, stalking… her heart leapt into her throat.

A rattling roar shook her to her very bones. Her eyes flew open, and before her towered a slathering, half-rotted beast.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

She bolted, skidding about the wall she had been hiding behind and racing down what seemed to be an off-shooting road, this one surrounded by decimated old buildings and workshops. Pottery was scattered about, broken and worn smooth from the shifting sands. The savage grunting rhythmic breaths of the snarling beast behind her filled her ears and he gained, growing ever closer.

"Oh God oh God oh GOD!" she whimpered.

Her bag felt so heavy, and she thought she could hear more breaths, more grunts. She did not have the time to glance back and check. Her feet flew, and she was too afraid to be worried about falling, though it did enter her mind once or twice.

Her stomach seized within her as from behind an off-shooting alley jumped two more Anubis warriors, clawed hands flexing hungrily. She gulped at them, eyes wide, fear freezing her.

"Oh… dear!"

* * *

"I hate all this waiting," muttered Jonathan.

Rick just looked at him flatly for a moment before his eyes fell back to the main thoroughfare. They'd been sitting there for nearly four hours, and they were all approaching the mood of downright tetchy. Ardeth looked thoroughly strung out, worried, and his eyes glinted with purpose. Even in his most serious of adventures with Evy and company, he had always maintained a firm and confident determination. One had to wonder whether all the world-saving was getting to him, and surely testing his every-surviving patience. Of course, the stakes completely changed now there was a rather lovely lady in the picture. It was funny how one person could make that much of a difference.

Ardeth had been trained since birth to be a warrior. Along with walking, speaking and riding whatever four-legged animal was available to him (be it camel or horse), he had been taught to hone is senses to the degree that they were in complete tune to the desert around him. He knew how it was supposed to look, smell, and most importantly, he knew how it was supposed to sound. He knew the scuttling of a beetle, the shifting of a snake. He was aware of distant sounds, close sounds, and he knew what was to be expected at this moment in time, and what wasn't. The breathing of each of his comrades was clear, as were the barking yells of Akhenaten, and the sharp yet padding steps of the Anubis Warriors all around them he monitored very carefully.

However, the sudden shifting of sand, the frantic crunching of boots upon well-trodden rocks was not something Ardeth could attribute to what was going on around him. Something wasn't right, not right at all. Any lingering uncertainty of whom or what made this unexpected sound that may have lived in Ardeth's mind died at the sound of an all-too-familiar scream resonating off the sides of the dilapidated temple nearby. He tensed all over and tried to leap up.

"Connie!" rasped from his throat, unbidden and unwisely.

Three sets of hands pulled him down, and he glared about himself in something a lot like rage.

"What are you doing!" he demanded.

"What are _you_ doing?" Rick hissed, "Trying to get us killed?"

"But Connie!"

"Ardeth, look!" Evy said, pointing to the thoroughfare below. Tens upon hundreds of Anubis Warriors swarmed towards Connie. "You don't stand a chance, not like this, not without a plan."

"And Connie? What chances does SHE stand?" he hissed back at her.

Evy looked to him firmly, tears rimming her eyes. "She's my best friend Ardeth."

Ardeth ground his teeth. "Then why aren't we out there saving her?"

"Because if he kills us before we've had a chance to deal with the Orb, then our efforts will be for nothing. The world will be in danger, not just Connie." Evy clutched his shoulders. "We have to think of the greater good first."

"Wait a minute… Connie!"

It was the plaintive askance of Jonathan. Evy glared at him. "What?"

"That Orb, you said that it was a big orangey looking thing, right?"

"Yes…"

He pointed towards Connie down below. "Would that be it, that thing they're dragging out of her knapsack at this very moment?"

Evy peered at her best friend. "What on EARTH?"

"How do you suppose he knew it was in there?" asked Jonathan conversationally.

"He sensed it," Ardeth said, his voice grim.

"Here's a good question," Rick said dryly, "What's she doing with the Orb?"

"It's not the Orb," said Evy. "It's her crystal ball! That's genius!"

"Whether it is the Orb or not and how she came to it is inconsequential!" Ardeth growled, "Connie is in danger!"

"Calm down, Ardeth, we gotta figure out how to get her out of there first," Rick said. He frowned, narrowing his eyes to focus on Akhenaten, who looked as pleased as a dried up old Mummy could possibly look. "He seems to think that her ball is the Orb… Huh… Guess he's stupider than we thought."

"Right," Evy looked to the rest of them. "We need to form a plan."

"Better make it quick," Jonathan said, "Look!"

The Anubis Warriors had Connie by her arms, twisting the behind her back and dragging her off down the thoroughfare towards the Main Temple. Rick grabbed a sword from a hastily modified holster under his arm and looked determined.

"Okay Evy," he said. "Now we act."

Evy nodded resolutely, drawing out her own weaponry, Jonathan following suit. Ardeth sighed with a touch of relief, and together they crept towards the Main Temple, whispering between each other different ways they could attack Akhenaten's forces. They agreed it all looked pretty bleak for them. They were out-numbered, Akhenaten had someone they held dear as leverage and the Anubis Warriors didn't tire. They also, however, didn't care about anything. They cared about Connie, and they cared about putting Akhenaten in his right place.

It wasn't much of an advantage, but it was the only one they had.

* * *

The screams that lifted from her ripped her throat painfully. It was nothing compared to the pain that throbbed in her shoulder joints, yanked this way and that carelessly as they dragged her into the newly cleaned out Temple. Fear gripped her, but she fought it defiantly. She would not let it take her over and she would not let it make her weak. Where-ever the others were she had to stop Akhenaten from using the Orb, whether it was a pretend talisman or no. She could not fail them.

Akhenaten moved about in front of her, pointing this way and that, chattering orders in his ancient tongue. The Anubis Warriors about him bowed and carried out all he commanded. Strangely, every now and again his alien words would make sense to Connie, like a distant object coming into focus for a moment. She relaxed her mind, concentrating on the words that drifted past her ears…

"… heavenly. My God… blessed is the Aten… touching the land… beauteous gold… bountiful gift… with so… amongst… been so delayed… assured that blood will flow…"

Connie struggled, her heart beating hard at those last words she captured. She glanced to the bonds she had been placed in. Smooth hemp ropes bound her wrists and ankles, but she was strung painfully against a gold statue, its nobbled form digging into her from behind. She hung against the thing glumly every now and again before struggling again, trying to break free. She stared darkly at the undead being in front of her, stalking this way and that, throwing up dry spindly arms and jabbering away endlessly at a large gold disk before them that was embedded into the temple wall, a round and significant looking niche in the wall underneath it.

"What do you want with me?" she asked him. "Please… you have the Orb. Let me go."

Akhenaten stopped mid-step, and he turned his head, looking at her. He tilted it quizzically, almost in curiosity. He then continued his nervous pacing. It was obvious he had no idea what she was saying, and she very much needed him to.

_I must channel that voice_, she thought_, the one that helped me bring Jonathan's past soul forward… I must be able to communicate with Akhenaten… but when I'm in that state, I barely have any control over myself! Damn! It's my only chance though…_

She closed her eyes, opening her mind to the complex mesh of energies that was carefully woven in the world about her. Soon she began to feel it again, the trance becoming her, and she was able to avoid the frightening rush of voices that had bombarded her before, as purpose drove her and cleared her mind. Her injured palms began to throb and ache anew, and she could slowly feel the world become smaller. Despite this, however, she could feel every part of it, so vividly, so simply, she felt she could reach out and touch it all.

All at once that primal voice slipped to the fore, and she could only watch as it spoke to Akhenaten through her with a language long-dead.

"You have little time, Sun-King."

Akhenaten spun about, glaring at her. "I did not bid you to speak."

"I am not yours to command," she said gently. Little did she know it, but her large blue eyes were cool with an unfamiliar firmness. "This life is not yours to take."

The undead King stepped forward, clutching Connie's shoulders in cold, sharp bony fingers.

"This I know," he breathed, this escaping him as a chill rattle, "But I ask for forgiveness for taking that which isn't mine for a cause that is beyond the good of just one." He sighed, stepping away, pacing again. "I do this for the Aten! For my God - the only God! I do not expect a commoner as you to understand."

"There will be a price to pay," Connie said. "How can a God so kind love one that does such a cruel thing? Are you so eager to taint your soul in such a way?"

Akhenaten growled, a slight whimper in his strange voice. "This is not for my soul! My soul is unimportant! I will willingly take all the trials that I deserve in my travels in the beyond. To me it is a small price to pay for the saving of so many unenlightened souls!"

"You care not for these souls," she said. "It is your foolish pride that drives you."

"Be quiet!" Akhenaten howled. "I must be about my task!" He gripped her shoulders once more. "I am very sorry you must die for a cause you do not share, but in the end you will be with Aten and you will be happier." He shook her slightly. "Aten will bless you!"

He turned away, striding towards his altar before the great gold disk in the wall beyond them. He began his prayers again, chanting to the Aten, his rattly voice following some long-lost tune that may have been beautiful once upon a time, but now just sounded like a haunting dirge. The Anubis Warriors lined the walls, looking, for the first time, fidgety and unsure. Connie frowned in thought. Was Akhenaten's time nearly up? Is that why he was so frantic? Perhaps she could slow him down, bide her time, hold him up. If she could, then perhaps there was a chance they could all survive this.


	20. An Unexpected Arrival

**Chapter 20**

Chanting could be heard from outside the main temple. It was a singular, unearthly voice that they heard; it was neither calming nor pleasing to listen to. It was the voice of someone that had no business moving anymore, let alone singing a tune. The tune itself was sad, though once could hear that once it would have been joyful, and if a chorus of living voices had been singing it, alive and celebratory. These sounds did not put Rick, Evelyn, Jonathan or Ardeth at ease as they hid behind a wall that ran across a terrace leading up to the temple. In fact it only served to have them all rather on edge.

The small band of Anubis Warriors pacing back and forth in front of the main entrance of the temple did not help their moods in the slightest. In fact, considering they had to overwhelm the carrion-looking lot and force their way inside, there was no way that the presence of the guards could be anything but stressful.

"Why are there only…" Jonathan squinted and paused to count, "…Eight of them there?"

"The rest are inside," said Ardeth. "I suspect Akhenaten wants them at hand when he gains command of them."

"Or maybe they want to be on hand if he doesn't," said Rick with a lifted brow.

"Either way," said Evelyn, "There aren't many of them, and it's at least something to be thankful for."

"Let's be thankful after this entire situation is over with," said Ardeth grimly.

Evy dipped her head dutifully and nodded.

"All right," she said. "Ardeth, you take the two on the left, Rick, the two on the right, and I'll take the two in the middle."

Jonathan suddenly looked panicked. "W-What about _me_?"

"You take the rest," Evelyn grinned. "Ready?"

Jonathan gripped his sword, his lips thinning to a determined line. Behind him Ardeth and Rick drew their swords, legs tensing and twitching like hunting cats ready for the kill.

"On three," breathed Rick.

"One, two…" Evelyn whispered.

They all breathed a "Three!" and leapt out from behind the wall, throwing themselves at the Anubis Warriors.

Rick sprung behind the two on the right as Evelyn had instructed. With an upper-handed swipe he relieved the first Warrior of its head, black dust bursting about him, and swinging around he blocked the attack of the next Warrior. It roared at him in a deep baleful wail, the half-rotted lips of the muzzle slathering and shuddering at the sound. Rick screwed his face up at it and let the sword fly. The guard blocked it, and pushed against Rick's blade, forcing him down. The guards, although stupid, were strong. Rick yanked his sword away, ducked a swipe from the guard and then once the guard's follow-through stroke left his upper half open to attack, flipped the sword and made a heavy up-stroke, lopping the creature's head from its body. The head flipped three times before joining its body in a mass of dust. The black coarse dust rained upon Rick's features, and he coughed and hacked before it all dissolved away into nothingness.

"I hate mummies, but at least they don't burst all over you…" He cringed and stuck out his tongue as if to rid himself of the phantom grains of black sand.

Jonathan had dispatched one guard but struggle with his second, and Evelyn and Ardeth were both finishing off their last.

"Don't help me!" he cried, "I can get rid of him on my own!"

Rick shrugged. The shorter man swung and blocked the blows. There was a stubbornness in his light blue eyes that they had only ever seen directed at acquiring riches before. Evelyn's mouth twitched in a hidden smile. Jonathan landed the blow and the Anubis Warrior ended in a lashing whorl of black sand. He beamed proudly, puffing his chest and pointing at the nothingness in front of him.

"Not so bad eh?" He twirled his sword, and nearly smacked himself in the knee. "Argh!"

"Jonathan!" Rick hissed, motioning the man to hurry.

They crept inside the temple, sticking to the red granite walls of the entrance atrium. Its huge stone doors had been folded away to reveal the gilded temple main room, Anubis Warriors lined along the edges in groups of four, and at the end of the hall was a great golden podium laden with statues of Akhenaten and his family, of farmers and farm animals, of life rather than graven Gods. In the centre of this stage, natural light above it spilling down from a vault in the ceiling was a magnificent sarcophagus, inlaid with lapis, rubies and deep green gems. The sealed death-bed gleamed with treasures uncountable, and Evelyn looked to it with a grim knowing.

Ardeth grew tense, and his eyes were fixed upon a statue that stood at the mouth of the wide aisle leading up to the podium. Against it Connie struggled and panted, muttering Ancient Egyptian words that Akhenaten seemed determined to largely ignore.

"I need to get to that sarcophagus," breathed Evy to Rick. "According to the Medjai text Izzy brought us the Aten Hymn of the Dead that will put Akhenaten to rest is inlaid within a cartouche on the chest of his likeness."

"Right, well let's not waste any time," Rick said and then pointed to Ardeth, cocking his head towards the podium.

"One question," said Jonathan. "There are about a hundred and fifty Anubis Warriors out there, and four of us. Not that it's any time to be a downer, but those are pretty atrocious odds, don't you think?"

Evy shrugged. "Ardeth will take the forty on the left, Rick can take the forty on the right, and I'll take the forty in the middle."

Jonathan frowned in thought till his jaw dropped. "That only leaves me with thirty!"

Evy couldn't help but smirk. "Let's not get greedy, shall we?"

The sound of Connie's voice ringing out against the gold-covered walls made them all jump, and teeth were grit as they gripped their weapons, steeling themselves for the fray that was to come.

Rick's lips were a thin line when he said, "Ready? On my word…"

* * *

Connie was sure that her back would be ten different colours in the morning (should she survive the morning) thanks to the knobbly contours of the statue she was tied so tightly against. Every time she struggled, or even leant against it, it would dig into her back. It was at such an angle that she had no choice but to lean against it and her back ached deeply, blood rushing to the injured flesh. Akhenaten would not listen to her, no matter what her ancient voice brought forth or challenged him with. She tried to curb the desperation in her voice, but under the cool calm of the voice of the old spirit she was terrified.

Akhenaten stood before the niche, his hands holding aloft the burning-amber orb, the light from above making it seem as fire.

The Anubis Warriors filled the temple behind her, standing in neat rows, twitching and growling restlessly, eyes fixed upon Akhenaten.

Connie closed her eyes, battling the tears forming there, wondering how on earth it could be that her life should end like this. She didn't think there could be any way out of it. Wherever Evy and the gang were, it was a very strong possibility that they would not be able to get to her in time, and there was a certain menace about the tall wiry Mummy on the podium that left her feeling cold. He would put the Orb in its place, and that Orb was not the real Orb. The depth of this creature's anger was not entirely alien to her, and she feared it. In a move of utter desperation, Connie let her head hang down, her mind resting in prayer.

"God," she breathed, trying to contain any sobs that might escape from her. "I know I'm not exactly the most conventional of followers, but I know that the way to You is lined with many paths. I don't know what Your plan is for me, but please, I don't want to die like this. I don't want to die here." She sniffled, her throat aching. "I've only just… I've only just found a whole part of myself that I never imagined could exist. And-and…" She tilted her brows up, her heart tightening within her. "I've only just found Ardeth. I'm not exactly sure what is going on between him and I, but… I want to find out."

Akhenaten's chanting was beginning to rise slowly in tone and speed, and the spindly figure began to step towards the niche.

She clenched her teeth, steeling herself for what was to come, trying one last time to convince Akhenaten otherwise.

"Don't do it, wise King!" She swore to herself as her words tumbled out in English, and no matter how she tried to calm herself and meditate, no matter what she said, the trance-voice would not return to her. Tears tumbled down her face unbidden as she struggled against the statue her poor tortured body was bound to.

Akhenaten took the final steps to the niche, and with a baleful crooning, placed the Orb into the hollow in the wall, sliding it down into its round pit where it fit - exactly.

A sudden flash burst from the golden receptacle, a rippling wave of light tearing through the air from the Orb, expanding, surging through each body and each form in the Temple around it, expanding ever outwards beyond the walls. Connie cried out, turning her face away from the blinding light. It was hot and bracing, and she felt her breath taken away as it slid through her. As it faded, she opened her eyes, tears blurring her vision some. She blinked them away, her mouth hanging open in disbelief, eyes fixed upon the receptacle in the wall. She couldn't speak, couldn't move. It all fell upon her, the realisation that whatever she'd given to Akhenaten was all he needed to fulfil his terrible plans.

Akhenaten chuckled deeply, his withered voice swelling with a new power. He turned, shrunken eyes fixing upon Constance, and he strode towards her, bony hands flexing.

"This isn't supposed to happen!" she gasped at him as he closed in on her. Her confusion cleared suddenly, heavy tears spilling down her face. "I gave it to you. I handed it right to you." A sob lifted from her chest and she hung her head down. She'd failed them. She'd failed Evy, Rick, Jonathan, Ardeth… She'd failed Izzy, and little Alex. Akhenaten was free now, free of his curse, and it was all _her_ fault.

Akhenaten chattered to her suddenly in the ancient tongue, but she could only vaguely make out the meaning as her head span sickeningly. His words were a cruel expression of gratitude for handing him what he'd been seeking so desperately.

She lifted her head then, narrowing her eyes. That was it. She was not going to face death a whimpering mess. She gritted her teeth, watching the undead thing barely an inch away from her face chant and chatter mindlessly. All at once she swung her head back and jabbed it forwards, sending it cracking into Akhenaten's skull. He howled, staggering backwards, and she struggled against her bonds, her determination renewed. As she struggled valiantly Akhenaten straightened, growling deeply at her. He strode forward and with cold leathery fingers he grabbed her face, digging the emaciated digits into her living flesh, his mouth opening wide. It began to gape wider and wider, and a great roar began to grow within the beast's chest. Connie struggled as best she could, with all her strength, till suddenly it all began to be drawn from her body, out of her mouth, her eyes, her nostrils, right into Akhenaten before her.

It was at that moment that a great cry rang out through the Temple, the blood-curdling roar of a soul wanting revenge, and Akhenaten, so preoccupied with beginning his feed, never saw the flash of black that jumped out from nowhere and tackled him to the floor.

Above the noise of the developing melee sounded a single windy note; a ram's horn called distantly over the sands and echoed in the temple.

* * *

Izzy blew a sigh through his lips, eyes narrowed as they stared into the endless blinding sand. The rhythmic flapping of the dirigible's balloon came in and out of odd syncopation with the 'tick tick tick' of Alex drawing a camel riding crop back and forth over the floor-boards of the dirigible. He would have told the boy to stop, but his mind wrapped around the two sounds intertwining and it was a welcome distraction. Anything was better than thinking about what was possibly happening in the temple beyond. He glanced at Alex momentarily. The boy continued to drag the crop around, his eyes following the end of it, his brows drawn together with a wrinkle of worry in between.

Izzy looked back out to the dust and sand, and wondered how the hell the O'Connells could do this to the poor boy. Oh sure, they didn't plan to go get themselves half-killed, but the second they stepped foot in Egypt, they invariably did. He was sure the experience of watching his mother die before his very eyes did more to Alex than he showed.

He hoped that after this both Rick and Evy would take the boy somewhere safe, with other kids, and have him go back to school to grow up in a normal environment. Get the toff perks that their wealth could afford the kid. Have all the good things in life that the little bugger deserved.

_All the things I never got_, Izzy mused. _And look what happened to me. Chasing dead things, ducking tidal washes and getting shot in the bloody arse_.

He looked over his shoulder at Alex again. "You all right?"

Alex looked up and nodded, but Izzy could tell the boy was worried.

"Don't worry," he said. "Your Dad as gotten through more scrapes than I care to remember. He's made of stronger stuff than you can imagine."

"I know," Alex said. "I just hate not being able to do anything to help them."

Izzy nodded, and looked back out to the desert. In the rippling blur of the horizon, flooded thickly with heat distortion, black shapes wobbled and grew. Izzy narrowed his eyes, cocking his head, trying to make them out. He held out a hand.

"Alex, now's the time to make yourself useful. Pass me my telescope, will you?"

Alex nodded and raced into the wheelhouse, digging around for a moment before retrieving the dirty brass telescope and handing it to Izzy. Izzy slid it out to its full length and peered down the eyepiece. The wobbly shapes were getting bigger… closer. Izzy's heart stilled and clenched in his throat. Whoever or whatever they were, there were hundreds, no, thousands of them, heading towards the city.

"What are they?" asked Alex.

Izzy licked his dry lips. "Dunno… but it don't give me a good feeling."

Alex looked back and forth at the stretch of the horizon dominated by the figures, and after some minutes he perked up, grinning. "Somehow Izzy, I think we'll be okay!"

Izzy peered down the telescope again, and gasped. "Bloody hell! Look at that!"

He handed the telescope to Alex, who grinned widely, looking a lot like his mother. "What did I tell you!"

In the circle of sight that the telescope gave them were heavily robed figures upon horseback, tassels dangling and swaying to and fro from the horses reigns, turbans high and proud on the warrior's heads and swaths of black material fluttering in the breeze of their movement. One did not have to be a genius to know who they were; the Medjai in force were a sight to behold, and one never forgot it. And they were here, they had arrived. They had arrived in huge numbers, and the specks of black grew from the horizon like water over a dry sea shore.

"How'd they get here so fast?" gasped Alex.

"That lot call the desert an 'Ocean', you know that?" he said. "And they bloody well mean it. They know that wasteland better than I'd like to wager."

Alex smiled, hope renewed in his green eyes. "They're going to help save my parents."

"Yeah," Izzy nodded. He couldn't air his niggling concern that they had no idea what was going on inside the temple, or that it could be too late. _Let the boy hope_, he thought. _Let the boy hope_.

The Medjai approached quickly upon horses and camels, and a grey, careworn old Warrior at the head of the great number lifted to his lips a ram's horn, as old and weather-beaten as the fellow that carried it. Clearly and sharply a note rang out over the dunes and echoed against the vast pylons that lined the main thoroughfare of the city, carrying the distance to the temple beyond.

"Won't be long now before it's all over, right Izzy?" said Alex.

Izzy watched the Medjai. The call of the horn echoed into stillness, and the Medjai stood silently before the walls of the ruined city. Something about the silence worried Izzy, and he could sense that it worried the Medjai too. He squirmed, frowning.

"Yeah… not long."


	21. Waking the Warrior

**Chapter 21**

Evy gripped her sword, jaw lax as her mind processed what she had just seen. It seemed like it had all happened in an instant. Ardeth, blind with rage, raced down the centre aisle of the temple, robes fluttering behind him, his sword flashing and swinging, no Anubis Warrior that stood before him standing a chance. As he reached the podium he let out a terrible cry and leapt upon the Undead King. Akhenaten howled, bony hands clawing and scrabbling at the man atop of him. The Anubis Warriors unsheathed their scimitars and all turned towards Ardeth.

Rick's jaw set, eyes gleaming. "Okay guys, NOW!"

They leapt out, racing into the congregation of Anubis Warriors, swords whirling and hacking, crying out in the spirit of battle. The Anubis Warriors spun about and homed in on the new intruders, and a handful remained with Ardeth on the podium, leaping atop of him and smothering him underneath their lanky slate-grey bodies.

"ARDETH!"

Connie's cry echoed off the gilded walls and she struggled in her bonds, tears still wet on her face.

Rick hacked and sliced at Anubis Warriors as if they were choking weeds, swirls of black grit following him where he went. Evelyn and Jonathan moved with similar ease, though Jonathan struggled with the Anubis Warriors about him, being a little less quick to block and parry as his sister and brother-in-law. There was panic growing on his features as the Anubis Warriors' numbers didn't seem to thin. He did not see that indeed, they had taken out a good number, and Ardeth had thrown off those that tried to crush him on the podium. As he finished off the last that had smothered him, Akhenaten crawled away, shaking with rage. He pulled an urn from one of the ceremonial plinths, raising it up in the air and crying out in his ancient tongue. Connie narrowed her eyes as she struggled to make out any meaning, the word 'weben' floating past her ears.

"Ardeth!" she cried, "Watch out!"

Ardeth pulled himself to his feet just in time to see Akhenaten throw the urn in his hands to the ground. It smashed and the ash from within swirled and rose up, yellow desert sands lifting up out of the ground from nothingness, gathering and congealing to solid human forms. Solid _headless_ human forms.

"RICK!" called out Evelyn. "Akephalii! Right there!"

Rick spun about, the grimace on his face dropping. "This is not good."

The Akephalii had sprung up all about them, their numbers more than the Anubis Warriors, and who knew if any had sprouted up beyond the Temple. Their headless mummy-like state was daunting, and with reaching arms they plodded towards Rick and company, silent but numerous. Rick grit his teeth and swung his sword at the nearest of the new foes. He lopped off arms and legs, limbs flying this way and that, and the limbs would still wriggle and reach for him, fingers grabbing for his boots and trying to trip him as he battled to fend off remaining Anubis Warriors.

Connie, upon the podium, watched with horror as Ardeth fought off countless numbers of Anubis Warriors, Akephalii now joining the assault. She still struggled, but was tied fast against the golden statue. _All right Connie_, she thought, _You're not going to be able to fight. Trance. You need to get back into a trance state and battle what Akhenaten is doing…_ She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, clenching her hands closed and rubbing the wounds of her trance with her sweaty fingertips, hoping to bring forth new blood. In the back of her mind a voice grew in intensity… it was female, strong, frightening…

"_Djed-medewi her kah em khenoo… Ahayi kah em hah sep… weben… weben…" _She threw her head back, her voice crying out over the din, "_WEBEN!_"

Jonathan buckled, letting out a strangled yelp and falling to the floor. Anubis Warriors and Akephalii gathered about him and fell upon him and for a moment there was a tangle of undead monsters where Jonathan had been. Evy struggled, hacking her way towards her brother to free him, but only a few steps away there was a sudden roar from the pile of fighting bodies.

Creatures, Anubis and Akephalii alike, were hurtled backwards, flipping and tumbling away as from underneath them leapt a roaring and vengeful looking Jonathan. Any hint of the soft-spoken and quick-witted gentleman was gone, and grabbing another scimitar the fellow let loose on the warriors around him, Ancient Egyptian curses flowing from his mouth. He held no mercy, and his swords were barely seen as he slashed and swung expertly at the monsters before him. Assured of Jonathan's safety, (with a look of utter shock and disbelief), Evy threw herself back into the fray, knocking back her own share of terrible creatures.

During this, Akhenaten seized another of his urns, this one black and carved of obsidian. He chanted and threw it to the ground, flexing his hands and lifting them up above him. A shadow swooped through the temple from the broken urn, and it was accompanied by a growling slathering rumble that Rick and company knew all too well. Akhenaten chuckled darkly and turned on Constance.

"You will not thwart me, peasant seer!"

"Osiris will claim you," she said, her words fast and furious in the old Egyptian tongue. "You will not know mercy before the end; you will only know fear and pain!"

Akhenaten roared, striking her across the face, his bony hands marking her. "SILENCE!"

With a growl he took a hold of her face once more, fingers digging in as he chanted the old spell to absorb her life-forces. There was a howl, and again Ardeth pulled himself away from his adversaries, this time running towards Akhenaten and fully wrapping his arms around the rotted body, pulling him away from Connie. He fell, the Mummy atop him, and both he and Akhenaten tumbled down the steps of the podium, landing in a heap on the ground. There was a half-crazed blood-curdling cry, and from the crowd of monsters burst a wild and maniacal looking Jonathan, hair thoroughly on end and askew, shirt ripped and bloodied, sweat pouring off him, swords in his bruised and scratched hands. He swiped madly with the swords and Connie fell to the ground.

She gripped her wrists, gasping for breath, her body stunned from its sudden release. The ropes that had bound her laid on the floor, cut to pieces. She had barely a moment to adjust when Jonathan pulled her to her feet, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. His wild eyes met hers, and he spoke in Ancient Egyptian.

"I release she who tried to save my noble father! Fight and live, good woman!"

Without another word he let her go and threw himself into the mass of monsters beyond the podium. She was not left to her own devices for long, however. From all directions came Anubis Warriors and Akephalii, and Ardeth was nowhere to be seen.


	22. War in the Desert

**Chapter 22**

The Medjai sat proud upon their steeds, swords drawn, eyes set upon the worn and crumbling walls of the ancient city. It seemed to Izzy and Alex that they'd been sitting there for the longest time. The quiet and the waiting had become maddening.

"What are they doing?" asked Alex. "Why don't they go in there and fight?"

"I don't know," said Izzy, frowning and watching the warriors keenly. "They know the signs of the desert, and we don't. Somethin's not right, I can feel it. And if a westerner like me can feel it, Lord above knows what they can pick up down there."

As if to prove his words, a terrible creeping shadow burst from the temple, sweeping over the ground hungrily, the edges shifting and bubbling in the shape of snarling snapping savage jackal jaws. The Medjai pulled on the reigns of their beasts, camels and horses alike rearing back and throwing their heads back and forth and snorting. They backed away from the growing shadow slowly, which now seemed to recede, sinking into the once-white sands like an evil liquid. Alex peered at it.

"What is that?"

"Don't know," said Izzy, "But it can't be good."

Indeed it wasn't. From the ground bubbled strange black mounds of sand that shivered and grew to the shape of long imperfect pillars. The pillars wobbled and shifted, and their form refined slowly to things with muzzles, with pointed ears and long bent legs. These forms shook themselves as dogs shake themselves free of water, and the black sand fell away. Over the plain and dunes stood hundreds upon thousands of Anubis Warriors, freshly created from the soil of Egypt.

Alex's jaw dropped, Izzy mirroring his expression.

"Call me crazy," said Izzy, "But somehow I don't think these guys are here to swap hummus recipes…"

Alex just cocked a brow at Izzy.

One of the Anubis Warriors stepped out ahead of the pack uncountable, lifting his sickle-like khopesh. The warriors behind him shifted from foot to foot, bobbing up and down and growling in a rallying rumble, striking their blades and spears against their shields menacingly.

"We have to do something, Izzy!" Alex exclaimed, gripping the edge of the barge underneath him.

"What do you expect me to do, spit on them!" cried Izzy.

"Well can't we throw something at them or…?" Alex drifted off, his eyes growing wide. "The mast!"

Izzy frowned. "This thing's got no bloody mast!"

"Yes it does! In the hold!"

Izzy waved his hands. "What do you expect to do with a big long bit of wood?"

Alex grabbed Izzy's hands excitedly, dragging him towards the hold. "Come on, I'll show you!"

The little boy skipped down into the hold, the pilot following him, muttering curses under his breath.

"Listen, Junior O'Connell, I'm just as wary of following along with any of your hair-brained schemes as I am with your maniac of a father's."

"This isn't hair-brained," said Alex matter-of-factly, "It's brilliant. Now, help me get this mast up the hole…"

Alex bent in front of a long slim log that sat upon the curved floor of the dirigible's hold, hard and grey and doubtlessly heavy.

Izzy sighed. "It's bloody huge - it's going to be a job."

"Come on!" Alex said, "We haven't got much time until those things attack!"

It was as if the beasts heard him. Out on the stretch of barren dust and sand that sprawled away from the now revealed city of Amarna, the tall blue-grey jackal-headed warriors lifted their weapons, growling and roaring in unison. The serene wise appearance of the leader of the Medjai slipped away in a moment, the older man lifting his scimitar in the air and bellowing in his native tongue. All at once the two masses of warriors charged towards each other, the rumble of feet on earth and the deafening rush of their voices mingling reaching inside the hold of the dirigible and chilling the two fellows inside. At the sound they exchanged panicked glances, and scrabbled at the mast, shouting at each other.

"Lift, lift!"

"No, not that way!"

"I know my own bloody dirigible-"

"Watch it!"

Together they thrust the mast up the hole, only to have it stuck at an angle. Izzy stomped a foot.

"Bugger! Pull… we'll get it up there…"

Alex panted, pulling with all his might at the mast in his hands before angling it further out of the trapdoor out of the hold.

"Was it this much trouble to get in here?" he cried.

Izzy frowned to think for a moment. "Yes."

"Why is it in here in the first place!"

"I don't know. Balance or somethin'! Just keep at it, you!"

The sounds of battle continued as they kept sliding the pole out the trapdoor. Now that they were past the shallow angles, the mast stood upright in the hole, and they held it up like a caber. Izzy looked at Alex.

"All right, smarty-pants - what now?"

"We need to lay it out on the deck and tie ropes to it! Long ones!"

The mast took as much manoeuvring to lie flat on the deck as it did getting it upright in the trapdoor, and it kept poking up into the balloon fabric, which sent Izzy into hysterics every time.

"Don't punch a hole in it, for God's SAKES!"

Despite the calamity going on down below and Izzy's panicked state, Alex concentrated on the situation at hand, looking up and down the mast, lifting the end of it and weighing it and looking thoughtful. Izzy came back from the hold with two bundles of ropes in his arms.

"This is my spare rope, for emergencies!" Izzy barked, "So this better be a good idea!"

"It is, Izzy, trust me." Alex grabbed the rope eagerly and began to tie it around the end of the mast. Izzy let out a funny barking sound.

"Ah! What's that?"

Alex glanced up. "Huh?"

"You call that tying a knot? It'll come loose in a moment. Move over!"

Alex sighed, standing up and out of the way. "Just tie it to both the ends, and then to the rail there… and the rigging here…"

Izzy glared at the boy in protest to being ordered around before doing as the kid said. There wasn't much point in making an issue of it considering that Izzy had no better ideas. He quickly and deftly tied ropes to both ends of the tapered mast, and Alex hummed and hawed over its shape.

"I hope this doesn't affect the trajectory too much," he said, rubbing his chin. "You better tie that rope shorter than this one…"

Izzy looked to the mast, and then to Alex. "And then what are we going to do with it?"

A scream of pain wafted up from the battlefield, and Alex jumped.

"Uhm, throw it over-board."

Izzy spasmed. "Are you mad! Those things'll climb up the bleedin' rope!"

"Not if we sweep past quickly," he said, and Izzy shook his head.

"No-no-no-no, you don't get it!" He waved his arms at the balloon above them. "This is a dirigible! It's not a bloody war-plane!"

Alex gnawed at his lip before brightening up. "What about the boosters?"

"They're for emergencies!" Izzy said. "Like the rope!"

"Izzy," said the boy, "There's a horde of creatures down there trying to wipe out the Medjai army! If _that _isn't an emergency I don't know what is!"

Izzy steamed, muttering curses before grabbing for the mast. "You - are a smart-arse!"

Alex blinked, then smiled. "Well I guess it's better than being a dumb one."

"Shut up and help me with this!"

With grunting, sweat beginning to trickle down their faces, the both of them hefted the mast and with a great clunk, threw it over the side of the dirigible. It lurched suddenly, tilting to the side a touch before settling itself right. Scrambling inside the wheel house, Izzy took a firm hold of the wheel.

"Stick close, Junior O'Connell!"

Alex nodded, running over to him and grabbing onto the wall of the wheelhouse. Izzy turned the dirigible about, pursing his lips together grimly.

"Ready?" he said.

"Yep," said Alex.

He nodded. "Right. Here goes nothin'!"

He smacked down the lever that activated the jets, and with a lurch the dirigible surged forward at a remarkable speed. The wind whipped about their ears as it soared down towards the tempest on the battlefield. Alex had never been inside the dirigible whilst going at such a speed, and now that he had he wished he would never again. He clutched onto the side of the wheelhouse, crying out helplessly.

"AAAAAAARGH!"

"Yeah!" cried Izzy over the blast of the jets. "That's just what I was thinking!"

He angled the wheel this way and that, and with a pull of another lever, the ship swept down close to the ground, shooting across it at a sickening speed.

"WATCH OUT!" he cried, and Alex frantically screamed the same thing over and over in Arabic as they called out in warning to the Medjai.

The Medjai, however, were not a silly people. Upon seeing the sweeping vessel, they figured out very quickly what it was Izzy and Alex were trying to do. Being the intelligent and bright warriors that they were, they did the most logical thing open to them at that moment. They ducked.

The dirigible shuddered as the dangling mast slammed into Anubis Warrior after Anubis warrior. They toppled and fell with angry shrieks, Medjai jumping after them and slashing off heads if need be. Many didn't even have to do that - some Anubis Warriors had their heads lopped clean off by the mast. From the battlefield roared the Medjai in encouragement.

"How many passes can we do before the fuel runs out?" cried Alex over the din.

"I'd wager a few!" said Izzy, "But I can't say more than that! This thing was meant for quick steering bursts!"

"Do what you can, Izzy!" exclaimed the boy, slapping the pilot on the shoulder. It occurred to Izzy that it was scary how much like both his parents he was.

Izzy proceeded to do his very best. Again and again he swooped low over the field of battle, the long cedar pole clunking and smacking against hapless beasts. With each sweep the Medjai grew more exultant, black dust bursting down upon the desert sands as the evil undead warriors fell.

The dirigible arced about and then plunged into its final sweep. A good number of the Anubis Warriors had been decapitated, and it looked as though another huge chunk of them were about to be dealt with. The dirigible rocketed forth, the mast knocking the enemy off their rotted jackal-pawed feet, and then with a sputter and a cough, it sailed along the plain, then wafted to a sort of bobbing halt. For a moment, there was complete silence.

Izzy broke it, whimpering and battling the controls, and Alex clutched the wheelhouse wall, wincing.

"That's it, we're spent!" Izzy cried.

Alex didn't get the chance to say anything to that. He was too busy crying out in fear as the dirigible suddenly fell a foot. It happened again, and they nearly fell over.

"What is that!" yelped Alex.

"Two guesses!"

Alex ran to the side of the ship. Below were the crowded wriggling bodies of the Anubis Warriors, climbing over each other and grappling the ropes above the mast, crawling their way up to the boat. One look at this and he ran screaming back into the wheelhouse to hide.

"Up! UP UP!"

"There is NO UP!" cried Izzy.

The sound of grunting and growling was growing.

"There's GOTTA BE, THERE'S GOTTA BE or we're gonna DIEEEE!"

The boy flapped his arms and Izzy squeaked and panicked and none of that stopped the jerking of the floor or the slathering huffs and grunt of the Anubis Warriors. It was a relentless hungry sound and it was getting closer and closer.

There was another roar. This time it was the united cry of the mighty Medjai, and the dirigible shuddered and bucked this way and that as Medjai and Anubis had it out on its ropes. Over the side of the dirigible boat, rotted grey paws slapped the wood for a hold, and claws dug into it menacingly. It seemed to struggle for a moment, and then a puff of black sand shot up from where it was. On the other side of the boat another set of paws did the same thing, and another, and another.

Alex cowered behind Izzy. Izzy felt utterly useless. He had no idea what to do next, and he was pretty sure they were buggered. He gulped, holding Alex close to him to protect him, squinting in the amber sun that crept down towards the horizon.

"This does not look good."

* * *

She wasn't quite sure what was going on around her, but, it was pretty clear to her at that moment that it was utter chaos. Big slate grey animal bodies growled and rallied themselves against the few truly living people in the room, and promptly met their ends on superiorly wielded curvy swords. Always there were more to come, however. She kept her screams of fright to a minimum as her hysterics weren't going to help anybody. It was very hard to keep quiet as Anubis Warriors kept throwing themselves at her, clawed hands scrabbling wildly. Until now she'd had someone jump in the way and protect her, but right at that moment there was no one. They were all quite busy with their own growling monsters.

The large slathering man-animal she was cowering from swiped at her with a viciously sharp gleaming khopesh. She instinctively ducked, and the khopesh embedded itself into the statue behind her, a sickening ring reminding her that it had missed her only just. She scrambled around to the other side of the gold gilded statue, breaths rushed and aching in her lungs. She was not going to panic. She had to stop this thing. She secretly wished Ardeth would pop up out of nowhere and save her, mainly because that would mean he was okay. As she glanced about her between ducking from harm, she could not see him and there was no sign of him about. Regardless, now was not the time for a teary body count. She rolled away from the beast again, its sword swiping down and clanging on the stone floor. She felt something cold in her hand, and as the khopesh came down again, she lifted whatever she had a hold of up in defense. Thankfully, it was a sword. It clanged and rang in her hand, and she nearly dropped it from the sheer force of the blow. Her hands shook and stung as pain blasted through her rattled bones. The beast looked mildly annoyed that she decided to put up a fight.

"Connie!"

She looked up. It was Evelyn. Her friend came running towards her, slashing and kicking undead ghouls from her path. It looked like it was sure to overwhelm her, but then she would move and stab in a way Connie would never have predicted, and with a few expert swipes, the foe would either explode in a swirl of black sand or fall to the ground in largely ineffectual pieces. Connie wasn't able to fully appreciate the skill Evy was exhibiting. She was too busy scrambling away from the monster after her, feebly blocking blows that she was slowly not being able to resist. She knew at any moment she was most likely going to die. In fact every moment she was still breathing was a deep shock to her. The wet slobbery sounding growling was coming from all directions now, and she spun about just in time to block a savage blow from a creature behind her.

"Keep blocking them Connie!" cried Evy.

Connie whimpered. "What's blocking!"

"What you're - raah! You're doing with the SWORD!"

Connie nodded, too busy trying to survive to say much else.

"I'm coming!" Evy called.

There was a sharp grunt behind Connie, and she scrambled, twisted and lifted up her sword. She didn't lift it enough. The beast's khopesh came down upon her defence and her grip was weak, her arm at entirely the wrong angle to stop anything. Her arm twisted at her side painfully and she felt her elbow joint bend and twist all wrong. The shuddering heavy khopesh slid to the hilt of her sword and by the grace of some omnipotent deity she was not cut, but her elbow joint was aflame with agony. Another roar rang out, this time from a now thoroughly angry Evelyn O'Connell. She threw herself against the growing number of beasts around Connie.

"Connie! The sarcophagus! You must read the hieroglyphs on top of the sarcophagus!"

Connie cowered by the statue. "But I can't read hieroglyphs!"

Evelyn strained as she blocked the attacks of two creatures at once. "Channel that spirit!"

"I can't!" cried Connie, rolling away from the claws of an akephalii. "It doesn't work like that! Once I call the spirit I have no control of myself!"

Evelyn gritted her teeth.

"Right!" she cried back, "It's time for decisive action!"

She neatly twisted about the Anubis Warriors, slashing into their necks from behind and obliterating them. She edged her way to Connie as more attacked her.

"You get the Orb!" she cried.

"And then what?"

Evy ducked a swipe and shrugged. "We play it by ear!"

Connie nodded and waited no further. She scrabbled away from the statue, hiding behind the nearby plinths that held gorgeous hand-painted pottery. The plinths toppled over, the pottery smashing upon the floor and being crushed as scimitar after khopesh came smashing down upon what they could, their wielders charging forwards over the fired clay debris. Connie hunched down in a desperate run, hiding behind the first large thing that came in her way. The crunch and swish of swords followed her.

"No no NO!" cried Evelyn, "They're hacking at the sarcophagus Connie! The spells, the SPELLS!"

Connie bobbed her head up to see what the fuss was and pulled it down again because she very nearly lost it. From what she could see happening around her, Jon and Rick were madly slashing at beasts, struggling through the hordes to make their way over to Evy. She still couldn't see Ardeth. Before she could wait to check, more swords came crashing down, biting into the wood like hard cheese. She bobbed down with a gasp.

_Okay, she thought. I am most likely going to die. I can't see Ardeth. He's probably dead too, and if he's not alive, then I'm not too interested in living anyway. _ She surprised herself with that thought, but the desperation of the moment didn't allow her to ponder on it too much. _All right, if I'm going to die, I may as well do something useful with myself before I go._

She looked to the Orb. It was standing inoffensively in its gold lined receptacle. The Anubis were on their way around the Sarcophagus to attack her. Evy sprang from the finishing blow of one creature and into their paths, and Connie took advantage of the moment. She bolted towards the receptacle. It was glowing as if a little piece of the sun was inside of the crystal, and dipping her hands into the brilliant hollow she clutched the thing in her hands. It was beautifully warm to the touch, her hands tingling at the contact, and she nearly lost herself in the sensation before she remembered where she was. Gritting her teeth, she tugged the thing from the hole, the cavity pulling back at it with a hungry magnetism. Finally she was able to stagger away, the Orb in her hands.

The glow in the receptacle shuddered, and all at once it exploded. A great wave of light swept through the temple, a hot wind buffetting those inside of it, leaving a daunting stillness in its wake. For a second, everything was still.

Then a single rattling cry echoed through-out the Temple hall. The voice was not unfamiliar to her. It was cold and manic, and now desperation seeped into its tones. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but Evy could.

"What have you done!" he cried. "What have you done!"

From the side of the podium raced a haggard looking Akhenaten. Connie saw him coming for her, his snapping angry tones becoming louder. Remembering the ball of crystal in her hands, she dropped to the floor on her knees.

"Evy! Here!"

She rolled it along the floor and it left her hands just as Akhenaten took a hold of her. He shook her, pushing her to the ground roughly before turning on Evy. Grabbing an abandoned weapon from the floor Connie raced forward, running Akhenaten through from behind.

The rotted corpse looked down at his stomach, mild annoyance on his withered features.

"Run Connie!" cried Evy, angling behind the great sarcophagus, eyes glued to the texts that decorated its lid. "Now! Run!"

"And leave you here to get chopped up by these laddies?" Connie cried, and she chased about Akhenaten, who watched her amusedly. The blonde waggled her stolen scimitar in her hand. "I don't think so!"

Behind her Rick and Jon finally managed to struggle their way up onto the podium, but they were still too far off to help her in that moment. They were able to keep enough monsters off of Evy for her to concentrate on the sarcophagus.

"Evy!" cried Rick, "You all right?"

"Yes!" she cried, "This will only take a moment, just watch Connie!"

Jon pushed his way forward boldly, nattering something in Egyptian that Connie didn't understand. Evy just dropped her jaw, her eyes on the sarcophagus.

"Jonathan! Did you kiss our mother with that mouth!"

Connie shrieked and ducked as Akhenaten suddenly lunged forward with a clawing hand. Instinct kicked in and she swiped at him with the sword in her hands, her stroke clumsy and unsophisticated. No matter, it did its job and neatly chopped off Akhenaten's hand. The Undead King growled at her and she squealed. She held the sword in her shaking hands and was quite horrified to see Akhenaten bend down and pick up his hand. With a disconcerted frown, he twisted it onto the end of his arm and before her eyes the stringy desiccated flesh knitted itself back together. Connie's jaw waggled open and closed, her eyes gleaming with terror. She suddenly didn't feel so brave anymore.

"He - he just put his hand back on!" she cried to the others.

"Yep!" called Rick, "They have a tendency to do that."

Her mouth worked silently before she could utter a panicked, "Help me!"

She backed away as Akhenaten advanced, withered hands reaching for her face. She shook wildly and cried out as she backed into the sarcophagus and was quite definitely stuck. From behind her was a cry in Ancient Egyptian. She glanced about herself, utterly lost, till Evelyn reached over the sarcophagus shouting, "DUCK! DUCK! He said DUCK!"

Connie slid to the ground, and above her a scimitar swung through the air in swift circles, lodging itself in Akhenaten's chest.

"Holy heaven!"

Bodies flew over her head, and next to her dropped a dead shrivelled arm. She thought maybe it was Akhenaten's, till she looked up and saw he still had both of his. Leaping over the Sarcophagus came Jonathan, swords blazing in his hands, Anubis Warriors and akephalii chasing after him. The Warriors had seemed to have forgotten she existed for the moment, which was definitely a good thing. She listened for Evelyn, to hear if she was all right.

"Honey," Rick called, now back-to-back with Evy. "How are we going?"

"Nearly done," Evelyn said in a sing-song tone. "Just a few more words!" She was slowly moving her way down the huge long cartouche that spread across the length of the coffin, her long brown fingers shaking. "Feh - feht... no..."

"You know I hate to rush you but it's kind of twenty to one!"

"Sshh!" hissed Evy. "Bloody verb conjugations! Let him? He will? Bugger! I can't think with all this noise!"

"Can't be helped, dear!"

Connie gawped at the sight in front of her. She wasn't sure what she had let loose in Jonathan, but was like nothing she'd seen before. His arms were a blur of movement, swords sweeping down at warriors that Akhenaten would set upon Jon in a moment. The dead king would try to wind about the fight, try to make his way to Evy to stop her, but again and again Jonathan would step forward. He growled and sunk a sword into Akhenaten. The Mummy growled, pulling the sword out, throwing it at Jon, who ducked easily. If an arm was chopped off, with an intrusion of a Warrior and a few moments re-knitting, Akhenaten would be whole again. The Power of the Orb was no longer about the Temple, but Akhenaten's basic spell of resurrection and magic was in full effect. Akhenaten seemed hesitant to fight Jonathan one-on-one, but every now and again he would pull a dirty trick, attack Jonathan in an entirely unfair way.

Huddled against the wall of the sarcophagus, Connie watched as the monsters about her charged at Rick and Jonathan. Desperation seemed to set in as Rick yanked his shotgun from his shoulder holster and started blasting at Akephalii, causing arms to fly off and rotted legs to shatter. The Anubis or two that caught a bullet merely staggered and marched on towards him. At this Connie jumped.

"A gun!" she cried, "A gun! I have a gun!"

She glanced about herself. By the foot of the statue she'd been tied to lay her heavy canvas bag, tipped over, contents strewn about haphazardly. A scarce few feet away from her lay the pistol Izzy had given her. With a cry of desperation she leapt into the fray, ducking swipes from the monsters about her. As she clambered for the gun she looked about her, not even realising it, heart tight in her chest as she saw no sign of Ardeth. A cry pulled her concentration away from her search.

With an awful wrench, Rick was pulled away from Evy's side and thrown to the ground by an Anubis warrior. Stepping forward, Connie gripped her gun in her shaking hands.

"Watch OUT Evy!" she cried. She fought to stop the muzzle from quivering. She'd learnt to shoot a gun when her Aunt's friends took her hunting in her youth, but she hadn't tried it in years. "Lead the target," she whimpered. "Squeeze the trigger... squeeze!"

An awful bang burst in her ears, and Evy ducked instinctively. The Anubis closing in on her stopped, spinning aside as the bullet plunged through its arm. After glancing quickly at the monster, Evy looked back to the sarcophagus and kept crying out the spell before her. Another warrior bore down on her, growling menacingly in rattling breaths. It lifted its sword.

With a whimper, Connie cocked her pistol and fired.

Evy grit her teeth, ducking as the Anubis Warrior swung at her, and missed, its aim thrown by the bullet plunging through its chest. Rick scrabbled to his feet and dealt with the beast, and behind him clawed an akephalii.

Licking her parched lips, Connie lifted her pistol again. She fired, instinct taking over. One shot buried itself in the arm of the headless corpse. The other grazed Rick's shoulder. He let out a roar of pain.

"Oh! Oh I'm SORRY!" squealed Connie, but that was all she could say. The monsters about her had seen her with the weapon in her hands, and as the akephalii plodded cumbersomely in her direction, an Anubis Warrior swept over on long, clawed legs. She scrambled back, wriggling and throwing the gun at her attacker, but he was only slowed down for a moment. Slender-fingered, half-rotted, huge paw-like hands clawed about her shoulders, and she felt bony fingers begin to wrap about her arms and legs. She could smell the rotting flesh, and despite her struggling, she was slowly being pulled to the ground.

She fought. She screamed. She'd done all she could, and it seemed now, finally, after all she'd been through, she'd found her end. One last cry lifted from her as the Anubis Warrior above her lifted his khopesh. As she watched him, a voice rang out through the air.

"...becoming night!" it cried, in Ancient Egyptian. "...Aten shall take thee with Him to thy rest! To sleep! To sleep! To thy eternal SLEEP!"

There was a shout, and the monsters that had Connie in their clutches stopped, letting go of her, as if called by their master. Connie scrambled away from them, massaging her newly forming bruises, looking madly for Evelyn on the packed altar.

Evy was at the sarcophagus, clutching the Orb above her head, the crystal glowing violently, the ground beginning to shake as the light grew. Above their heads the ceiling of the temple shuddered, a crack growing and rumbling, sun light spilling in with dust and grit. Akhenaten was on the other side of the sarcophagus, arms reaching out for the Orb, mouth ajar in silent agony.

Rick and Jonathan stood, slack-jawed, as the Orb in Evy's hands lifted up into the air, without support, shards of light stabbing forth from it, growing stronger and stronger. Not needing another moment's thought, Rick wrapped his arms about his wife's waist, pulling her away from the enchanted object. He ran towards Connie, Evy in his arms, Jonathan racing past him and collecting Connie in his arms.

"Wait!" she cried, glancing about her, fighting against Jonathan's attempts to pull her from the altar. "WAIT! Ardeth! We need to find-"

"There's no TIME!" cried Rick above the growing rumble of the temple about them. "We need to go NOW!"

Tears grew in Connie's eyes as despair gripped her. "No! I won't leave him!"

The room shook, and a strange silence swept through it. It was as if they'd been suddenly wrapped in a bubble, the light from the Orb pushing away all the tumbling rubble and dust. The spikes of light that jabbed at the air from the Orb kept extending, little bolts of light pulsing down their lengths elegantly. Upon coming to the end they shone, and became tiny, elegant, long-fingered hands, that spread in the air and reached forward. The ones before the frozen undead King became stronger, wrapping around whatever part of him they could, their glowing soaking into him.

It was as if Akhenaten was slowly being filled with sunlight from the inside. He glowed like hot iron, and his dried body had become a shell which began to crumble.

"Evy," breathed Rick. "What's happening?"

"I don't know..."

As the dead dried flesh fell away, disintegrating to dust, the bright ghost of Akhenaten was revealed. It was clear that he had once been a slender, gentle looking man. The hands of light that had rid the spirit of its corpse clutched him tightly, pulling it into the light. The shape of Akhenaten was bathed in beams, melting into the light, becoming one with the glowing Orb.

All at once a pulse of light burst from the Orb, and the glow at its centre was gone. About it the Anubis Warriors and akephalii were blasted into dust by the wave of light, which disappeared past the walls of the temple. The Orb dropped from the air onto the ground, its fall softened by a thick layer of desert sand. It dropped next to a pile of robes which were half-buried in the new earth and absolutely still.


	23. Panic!

Chapter 23

Alex threw all he could get his hands on at the impending creatures that struggled over the edge of the dirigible. Sometimes they were lucky, and the Medjai, swinging on the ropes below, would dispatch the Anubis warriors before they could make it into the dirigible. There were more Anubis warriors than Medjai, however, and the slapping of clawed hands on the edges of the dirigible became more numerous.

"Looks like this is it, kid!" cried Izzy. He brandished a short plank of wood, slamming down on the claws of the Anubis warriors ineffectually.

"I'm nine!" cried the boy in return. "I am TOO young to DIE!"

"Tell it to THEM!" shouted Izzy, pointing at the muzzle of a monster as it slavered and peeked over the side of the ship.

A strange thing happened then. The air grew empty, as if it had been sucked away, then heavy, the pressure of it nearly crushing them, then a huge wave of light blasted through them from the direction of El Amarna.

Alex was blown over sideways, and the little boy tumbled on the deck, grabbing for all he could and holding on for dear life.

"What's going on!" he shrieked, eyes clamped shut.

"I dunno!" wailed Izzy over the roar of air.

As quickly as the disturbance struck them, it swept away, leaving the desert still and silent.

The little boy had seen plenty of strange things in his short life, most of them at temples while he was on digs with his mother. This seemed to be yet another, and with a deep, dusty breath, he thanked God that he was allowed to be alive, at least for a little bit longer.

A familiar, excited howl pierced his ears, and looking up, Alex saw Izzy dancing on the deck. He didn't get to ask the funny dark man whether this meant that they had won. He would have been drowned out by the great, hollering roar of the victorious Medjai Warriors below them. Slowly, carefully, he pulled himself to his feet shakily, and looked out of the craft.

There was no sign of the Anubis Warriors that had choked up the landscape. All that could be seen was dancing and cheering men in black robes, waving their gleaming swords about triumphantly, thanking Allah with beautiful chanting prayers and hugging each other for all they were worth.

With a tiny smile, Alex looked to Izzy. "Maybe this means everyone's okay?"

Izzy took gulping breaths from all his dancing and quietness took him. He nodded.

"Yeah. Maybe."


	24. Goodbye

**Chapter 24**

The strange, supernatural events that had just unfolded had engaged her mind and made her forget about life, as all such bewildering things do. As soon as the numbing, awesome spiritual presence had fled them, panic fired up in her mind, and she no longer cared for lofty things. Breathing and existing were suddenly top priority and she pulled herself away from the panting man whose arms were about her, eyes scouring the form by the battered sarcophagus.

With a guttural moan she jumped to her feet, running for what might have been a body.

"Connie!"

The strong arms of a woman wrapped about her, and she struggled.

"I must SEE him!"

"Please, Connie!"

"Evy!" she cried, tears plunging down her cheeks. "I want to see him NOW!"

She broke away, staggering towards the robes amongst the sand. She didn't even think - she made straight for it and sinking down to her knees, she gripped the fabric in her hands.

It sank and gave way underneath her, and pulling at it, she found that the robe was empty. There was no body inside. She pressed her lips together, glancing about herself, seeing no one.

"Did he leave?" she muttered, hopefully. "He left? Maybe he was pushed out of the place! Maybe-"

Evy dropped down onto her knees next to Connie, wrapping an arm about the stricken woman. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Connie."

Shaking her head, Connie whimpered, gripping the robes in her hands. Tears blurred her vision and her sobs echoed off the shaken walls of the temple. Neither she nor the others noticed the large pile of sand just beyond the sarcophagus shift, nor the tall, dark, figure that extending up from it.

It staggered over, standing behind the group, watching bewilderedly as they all mourned over an empty robe.

"What are you all doing?"

Connie span about, eyes wide as saucers.

"Ardeth!" cried Evy, Rick sighing with relief, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"You have GOT to stop doing that," he said, pointing at the battered looking Medjai, who was nearly bowled over by the blonde woman running into his arms.

Hugging him for all she was worth, Connie let out a relieved sob.

"Damn you!" she sighed. "Damn you to Hades, you scared the HELL out of me!" Stepping back, she glared at him tearily.

Ardeth pulled a dirty, dusty lock of her hair behind her ear and gave a tired smile. "Now you know how I feel."

She sighed and buried herself in his arms, snuggling to the nape of his neck and just enjoying the fact that she could breathe without worrying about not being able to in the next second.

Evy, embracing Rick in similar relief, looked to the entrance of the temple and frowned. "Alex!"

In the bright shape of the doorway stood the small shape of a child and the taller of an adult next to it. At the sound of Evy's voice, the boy ran forward, feet kicking up dust in his glee.

"MUM! DAD!"

Both Rick and Evy ran to meet him, and they tumbled in a big knot of hugs.

"I thought Izzy left you at the oasis!" cried Evy, leaning back from an embrace.

"He did," said Alex, looking guilty.

"The little beggar hid in the hold, didn't he?" said Izzy, putting his hands on his hips as he reached the group.

"We told you to stay put!" said Rick, a serious glint in his eyes.

"I already told Izzy! If it wasn't for me, Mum would have died the last time!"

Silence drifted between the three of them, and Evy nodded, a sombreness taking her.

"He's right. And it's not fair."

Alex frowned. "What?"

Rick seemed to understand what she was saying, before she'd even elaborated. Evy held both Rick and Alex's hands, pressing her lips together.

"I have to stop unearthing temples," she said. "I can't risk this anymore. It's not right to put our family through this."

By this time, Jonathan had come back to his senses. He listened intently, and as the family fell quiet, he frowned. "But it means the world to you, Evy," he said, nursing a sore elbow.

"How many times can I do it before someone I love is lost forever?" she said, turning and facing her brother. "Look what I put Connie through! And Ardeth - again! Let alone risking the life of my son!" She shook her head. "It's ridiculous. I have enough work at my current digs to last me a lifetime... cataloguing, note-taking..." Her determined expression slid to one of depression.

"Which you'd be absolutely miserable doing, and which any number of scholarly people are more than capable of carrying out," piped up Constance. She stepped forward, taking Evy's hand. "Evelyn... you were born for this life. And I think, maybe your husband and son were, too."

Conflicted brown eyes met sure and warm blue. Finally, Evelyn shook her head, turning away from Connie.

"I can't do it, and I won't. It's time I behaved and responsibly and became the mother and wife I'm supposed to be."

Rick watched her, a worried looking frown on his face. From outside the temple slowly filtered the distant sound of hollering cries and cheering, and a slow, relieved smile spread across Ardeth's face.

"I must talk to my people," he said. He turned to Connie, enfolding her hands in his.

"Go on," she said, before he could continue. "I'm sure they'd like to know you're all right."

He nodded, squeezing her hands, before acknowledging the rest of the group with a quick bow of his head. He swept out of the temple in a rush of black, and Connie's eyes never left him till he was out of sight.

"Let's get out of here," said Rick suddenly, and Evy moaned in agreement.

Connie trailed after the family as they left the temple, walking gingerly with countless bruises and sore muscles. Rick was particularly careful as the grazing gunshot wound bled steadily, and Evelyn tended to it, guilt clear in her features. Next to Connie, Jonathan plodded tiredly, and a strange melancholy seemed to be taking over him. It was more than exhaustion, more than weariness.

"You all right, Jonathan?" asked Connie, gently.

Jonathan shrugged, seemingly embarrassed as Evy looked back to check on her brother. Rick turned too, concerned.

"I'm fine," Jonathan said, waving a hand. The sceptical expressions of those around him made him squirm, and he shrugged, as if it were nothing. "Well he's gone now, isn't he?"

"Who is?" asked Rick.

"Whoever I used to be that made me more than I am now," groused Jonathan. "I'm back to being - " He took a big breath in, trying to find the words to describe himself. He sighed and flapped a hand helplessly. "Me."

Connie smiled, wrapping one of her arms about Jonathan's, and she nudged him with her shoulder.

"You know, the thing about past lives, Jonathan, is that they stay with us, buried deep in our hearts. You were that man. That man is inside the man you are now. You can never be rid of him, but he can flourish into something new and better than what was before." She squeezed the arm in hers. "When you need to be Pharaoh Ramesses the Second, you can be."

Jonathan blinked at her, reading her expression, his own that of a child too afraid to believe. "You really think that I was-"

"Pieces of a puzzle, Jon," said Rick. "Makes sense."

Connie nodded. "I don't have a doubt in my mind."

They were quiet for the rest of the walk down the main thoroughfare of el-Amarna. Even if they weren't, they would have been moved to silence by the sight that greeted them once they emerged from the unearthed city.

In numbers uncountable were the Medjai, robes fluttering in a sweet breeze, all of them cheering and paying homage to their leader, Ardeth Bay. About Ardeth were the other chiefs of the Medjai tribes, older, wise looking men who looked thoroughly pleased that their young figurehead had not been taken from them in battle. Swords were thrust in the air, and chanting cries of joy rose and fell in exotic harmonies. The thousands of men barely acknowledged that the dishevelled foreigners had emerged from the city, but Ardeth glanced to them, affording them a wave. His people were too busy cheering him to notice.

Connie took a deep breath in, eyes roving the thousands of people that celebrated the man she'd bickered with, clung to, both ridiculed and admired. She shook her head.

"Oh, Evy," she sighed. "I had no idea."

Evelyn smiled. "I told you, you could do worse."

"Yes," said Connie, slowly, a frown forming on her face. "But he couldn't."

The breeze played about Ardeth lovingly, his dark curls dancing amongst the fluttering black fabric that clothed him so handsomely, and Constance felt that now-familiar swooping sensation in her chest. Yes, he was a handsome, wonderful, gentle man. She had him completely wrong when she'd arrived. When she'd arrived... She had been so blind, so naive. She wasn't sure she could ever be that woman again, though some part of her wanted to be, more than anything. Evelyn's transformation made utter sense to her now. It wasn't such a miraculous change anymore. One had to be like Evy was in Egypt, just to survive.

"Connie?"

"Look at him. Look at everything!" She motioned to the scene around her. "And look at me. I didn't fit five thousand years ago, and I don't fit now." She shook her head again. "I'm going home, Evy, to England, where I belong."

They soon became lost amongst the huge number of warriors, making their way towards the dirigible. As they began to climb aboard, there was a parting in the crowd, and Ardeth strode over, a flush of excitement in his cheeks. Evy, Rick and Alex were already in the dirigible, and Izzy was waiting below Constance, who was halfway up the rope-ladder.

"You are going back to Hamunaptra?" he asked the group, a little breathlessly from his rush.

Hesitance fluttered across Connie's features, and Evy filled the silence.

"Yes, Ardeth," she said. "Are you coming back with us?"

He looked back to the crowd, regret in his eyes. "I would like to, but there is much I need to discuss with the leaders of my tribes."

"You'll follow us, then?" said Evy.

Ardeth nodded, and looked to Connie. Connie's heart twisted in her chest, and she took a deep breath. She licked her lips, wringing the rope she clung to in her hands.

"Thank you," she said to Ardeth, gently. "I don't know if I would have survived all this without your assistance."

A crease formed between Ardeth's brows. "You speak as if you will not see me again."

She shrugged, looking down at her hands. "Well... I don't know how long it will take you to reach Hamunaptra, a-and as soon as I get there, I shall be making preparations to go home." Ardeth's frown deepened, and she could see hurt in his eyes. It killed her and she huffed sadly. "I haven't written to my Aunt Lila in nearly three weeks, Mr. Bay. She shall be worried. I have so much to take care of in England. It really is for the best..."

She nearly squirmed as he looked into her eyes for a long moment, and then nodded slowly.

"I hope that your trip to Egypt hasn't been too disturbing for you," he said, bowing his head. He froze as Connie jumped down from the dirigible, hugging him tightly before nailing him with a firm glare.

"Mr. Bay, I don't think I shall ever be the same, and I am very glad of it."

Tentatively, he brought his hand up and stroked her jaw. "I also have been changed."

She gave him a quick smile, squeezing the hand that had just caressed her. "See you."

He kissed his fingers and touched them to his tattooed forehead, his eyes tender. "_Ma'assalama_, _yâ 'aini_." She frowned curiously, and he added. "Goodbye, Miss Adams."

She turned, clambering up the rope-ladder before he could see the tears that suddenly welled in her eyes. Large hands helped her up into the dirigible, and she barely noticed Rick and Izzy putting her back onto her feet. The great crowd of warriors below let out a roaring cheer, and chanted as Izzy cut the binding ropes and the dirigible began to slowly rise from the ground. It took all her strength to turn her head and look down below.

Ardeth didn't cheer like his countrymen. He gazed up at the dirigible mournfully, watching it float slowly up and out of sight.


	25. The Train to Cairo

**Chapter 25**

Time: 8:45 am

Date: 3rd July, 1934

_Dear Diary,_

_What could I possibly say to describe the past two weeks of my life? How could I record it with mere ink and paper? I shall try, but not today, and not in this journal. That story deserves a book of its own._

_Have been three days back in Hamunaptra. I packed on the first day, but needed subsequent days to recover from my trip to El-Amarna. Evy, the angel, has arranged transport to Cairo with Izzy, so I needn't ride on a camel again. He shall not be charging us a fee, since our delay in El-Amarna was largely due to his suggestion._

_Have not seen Mr. Bay. Am quite undecided how I feel about that. He is most certainly a fascinating man, and has become a close companion, but how, in the reality of life outside the desert, even life at our stubborn little outpost, is that supposed to become anything more? Perhaps we are destined to be passing souls. He and I come from worlds completely apart. How would he feel of my Western Ways? How would I feel about his Eastern ones?_

_I think that the deeper, most secret part of me shall always cherish the gentle man that protected me in the wildest parts of Egypt._

The dirigible swayed gently in the morning desert breeze, and the heat of the day was already mounting ferociously. Jonathan and Rick passed Connie's bags up the side of the dirigible to Izzy, wincing in the glare of the sunlight off the sand.

There was a palpable mournfulness in the air, and Connie's heart felt heavy and listless, as if life were too awful for her to cope. It was strange. She wished nothing more than to be back within the redwood panelled walls of her townhouse back in England, where rolling green hills were a drive in the care away and rainfall was a regular occurrence. She couldn't, however, bear to leave the people about her, and she wished the urge to flee home and her imperative not to anger her Aunt Lila weren't so strong.

Evy clutched Connie's hand. "You sure you want to go?"

A part of Connie's soul wished nothing more than to stay until Ardeth returned. Common sense and cynicism convinced her otherwise. Her eyes did a quick scan of the desert around them, faintly wishing... but he was not there. She sighed, and nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Quite sure."

Behind her huddled the men in her best friend's life; her brave husband, her brilliant son and her jovial big brother. They all wore similar sad looks, though Rick seemed to look more sympathetic than anything. Clasping her hands together, she looked to them, wearing a weary smile.

"Time to go!" she said.

Alex scratched the side of his nose, mumbling down at the ground awkwardly. "Really wish you'd stay."

With a sigh, Connie stepped to him, ruffling his hair in her fingers. "Oh, Alex..." Such a rush of affection took her than she hugged the boy tightly. "Don't worry. You'll see me again."

"Good," he replied, squeezing her. "It'll get quiet around here without you."

Connie stepped back, brows lifting. "What, life around here, dull? I don't think so."

"I said quiet, not boring," quipped the boy.

She ruffled his hair again, affording the boy an affectionate chuckle. Next to Alex was Jonathan, who gave Connie a winning smile and gathered her up in a brotherly embrace.

"You take care, old Mum!" he said, patting her back rigourously. "Don't do anything back home I wouldn't do."

"What, like behave?" she smirked.

"Especially behaving!" he said cheekily, pointing at her.

Rick stood with his thumbs in his belt loops, watching the goodbyes stoically. When Connie stopped in front of him, he gave her a smile. "It's been good havin' you, Connie."

She wasn't really sure what to do. Rick seemed such a prickly and sardonic fellow, usually. He showed her an unaccustomed flicker of gentleness and she thought perhaps she had an inkling of what her best of friends saw in the man. She grinned, and extended her hand.

"Thank you, Mr. O'Connell."

"Pfft!" Rick wrapped a rough arm around her. "Call me 'Rick'."

She giggled and nodded. "All right. Rick."

"Time to go, ladies!" called Izzy from the dirigible.

Connie glanced at him then looked back to the group in front of her. "Well! That's my ride out of here!"

Evy and Connie climbed aboard, the men below calling out their goodbyes.

"Seeya!" cried Jon.

"Safe journey," said Rick with a nonchalant wave.

With the deft tugs of a few ropes, the dirigible rose up majestically, sailing off into the deep endless blue of the Egyptian sky, off towards Cairo and the way home to England.

Silence drifted over the group. Alex watched the dirigible until it became a tiny dot that swam in and out of his vision. Dropping his hand on his son's shoulder, Rick frowned.

"You all right?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah. It's just a shame Connie had to go. I would have liked to have gotten to know her better. Rick lifted his brows curiously. "Well, she is my auntie," Alex explained. 

A smile spread slowly across Rick's broad, tanned, handsome face and putting his arm around his boy's shoulders, he squeezed him affectionately. "Yeah. Yeah, she is."

The train seemed to huddle in its gathering steam and smoke like a grumbling volcano. Crates of live animals were handed to scruffy porters crouching on the step ladders leading onto the train. The smell of waste and the pungent tang of human odours filled their nostrils and the general cacophony of hundreds of people readying the train for its next journey almost deafened them. Ahead was a guard, and Connie clutched her ticket expectantly in her hands as they drew close.

* * *

"Good day, Madam," said the dark-skinned train guard in his trim, neat deep burgundy uniform, gold buttons on his chest gleaming. He spoke very carefully in accented English, and he bowed his head as he took Connie's ticket. He read it quickly and handed it back to her. "You are in the second carriage, berth four."

"Thank you," said Connie.

The guard bowed his head again and was soon distracted by another passenger. Connie turned away, taking Evy's hands and squeezing them.

"This is really it."

Evy nodded, eyes bright. "Indeed."

"Oh, Evy!" Connie moaned. "This is the hardest goodbye I've ever had to make!" She huffed, shaking her head. "I wish I didn't have to say it!"

"Then don't!" said Evy. "Stay!"

She sighed, looking down at their hands intertwined, heart sinking within her. "Poor Aunt Lila will be so worried about me, Evy. And I'm leaving my job behind, my place in society... everything." She bounced on the spot sadly. "And I do miss my home, and England..."

Evy's brows tilted up. "There'll be nothing here that you'll miss more?"

Connie gazed at her sister in spirit, hugging the hands in hers to her chest. "Perhaps. Oh dear!" She looked down at her hands again and frowned. "It would have been nice to have said goodbye to him one last time."

Evelyn smiled at that. "Well... maybe you'll see him again?"

"Maybe," said Connie with a slow smile.

The whistle of the train blasted through the clamour about them, and a heavily accented voice shouted, "ALL ABOARD!"

"Oh, that's me, I must go!"

Evelyn hugged Connie tightly, and followed her a little as Connie leapt upon the train, hugging her bag to her chest.

"I shall miss you!" called Connie. "I've had the most amazing adventure I think I shall ever have!"

Grinning back at her, Evelyn waved. A porter, just inside the door, shouted at Connie and the blonde woman nodded and waved at Evy before winding her way down the carriage. Evelyn followed her as she moved past the windows, and finally the familiar blonde head poked out of one of the windows.

"Buh-bye, Evy!" Connie cried. Standing there, in the train, her best friend now separated from her, Connie's heart twisted within her. Gazing at her friend, she noticed the darker woman glance down the end of the platform and do a double take. She gasped.

"Connie!"

Connie peered out of the carriage after what had stunned Evelyn so. Her heart, swimming mournfully inside of her, leapt with joy and clenched in her throat. She gripped the open window she practically hung out of, jaw dropping.

At the end of the platform stood a familiar figure, wrapped in black robes, a high turban on his head. He gazed at Connie, flexing his hands at his sides, seemingly unsure of what to do with himself. His expression was drawn, serious, and mournful. Evelyn covered the smile that battled to make its way to her face, and Connie glanced at her questioningly.

"That's the most miserable I've ever seen that man."

Connie gulped. "Really?"

"Really," nodded Evy with a grin.

"You're not lying?"

"No." Evy's response was almost drowned out by the shrill wail of the train's whistle.

She bounced on her feet, groaning. "Oh! Oh!" She looked to Ardeth. Her heart ached, her soul screamed that she was doing the wrong thing. "My aunt..."

"Can be telegraphed this very afternoon..." said Evy, sing-song.

Something in Connie snapped. She threw her purse at Evy, shrieking excitedly, and Evelyn squealed with delight.

"Hold onto that!" cried Connie.

She raced down the corridor of the train, crashing into passengers going the other way and ignoring their indignant cries of complaint. She pushed them aside, wrestling to the end of the carriage.

"Madam, no, madam!"

For some reason she couldn't get to the door. There was a terrible lurch, and she nearly fell over. The train had begun to move. There was a guard in her way, and he held her by the shoulders.

"Please, sit, please, madam!" said the guard.

"No!" cried Connie, and she grabbed the man and threw him aside with all the force she could muster. Had he been expecting it, she probably wouldn't have been able to move her, but the little guard was caught unawares and utterly shocked by the action of the plucky blonde, and toppled over into the hallway.

Connie grabbed the handle of the door, and wrenching it open, she leapt off the train. She didn't think that the train might begin to pick up speed at any moment. All she knew was that she could not leave Egypt for good.

She sailed through the air, her whole chest tight, fear making her feel as a wound spring. Her legs kicked and suddenly she made contact with the ground as she leapt the short distance between the carriage and the platform. Her momentum was more than her legs could handle, however, and she staggered forward in great steps until something collected her and she clutched onto it with her all. As she came to a stop, she felt something under her foot give way. She glanced down, and growled roughly.

"Bugger!" she cried, bending over, leaning against whoever had caught her. "Bugger, bugger, bugger! My boot! I broke the heel of my-"

"Be glad it was not your neck."

That voice pulled her attention away from her broken shoe, and she glanced up to see just who she was dangling off. A set of warm brown eyes met hers. "Buh-" She gulped, mouth moving helplessly for a full moment. She couldn't speak. All she could do was clutch his arms, which had found their way around her without her noticing (though she had just leapt from a moving train). She felt herself swaying a little, wrapped up in his gaze, heart soaring delightfully.

A thought, clear like a ringing bell, fell into the fore-front of her mind and she let out a terrible shriek. "My LUGGAGE!" she squealed. "Oh, my luggage! It's on the train! It's-"

Warm, gentle hands cradled her face, and lips pressed against hers. The slight tickle of a well-trimmed beard was about her mouth, and her mind drifted off delightfully as her heart took over. She tingled, from head to toe, and was sure that never in her life had a kiss been quite as wonderful or delicious as this one. She swooned, gripping the robes at his chest in her fingers, kissing him with as much passion as he showed to her, pushing herself up on her tip-toes. When she finally pulled away, his long, brown fingers stroked her jaw tenderly, a gentle smile on his face.

"We can send for your bags when they reach Alexandria," he murmured.

She blinked, her mouth dropping open to form an 'o' of astonishment. "Mr. Bay!" she cried. "You kissed me!"

He inclined his head in acknowledgement, his smile turning into the slightest of smirks. "I think you can call me Ardeth, now."

She made a noise between a laugh and a moan and sank into his arms again, hugging him tightly to her. His fingers sank into her hair, and after a moment, rushed footsteps approached them. Evelyn had run down the platform, weaving through the crowd, and she looked ruffled as she stopped in front of them.

"Connie! Are you all right?"

Glancing to the handsome man in her arms, then back to her best friend, she grinned. "I'm fine."

Evelyn sighed, running her hands through her hair, relief on her features. "Bloody hell. Can't get off a train without having a drama, can you?"

Connie ducked her head sheepishly, and Ardeth grinned. Stepping forward, Evy squeezed Connie's arm affectionately.

"I'll go tell Izzy the good news," she said.

As Evy disappeared back into the crowd, Connie leant against Ardeth, her eyes falling closed and the most unaccountable feeling of relief and joy washing through her. She didn't think about the consequences, or what life had in store for her, should she stay in Egypt. Only one thing floated through her mind.

Finally. Finally she was with him, and she was entirely and blissfully happy.


	26. Epilogue

Epilogue

The desert was rolling waves of purple and blue, the sky swelling from tangerine to a vibrant yellow. The air was chill, but that would soon change. Some little part of her heart anticipated the heat that would rise about her when the sun crept over the horizon. The cool colours about her would be set alight, burning with the unforgiving burnished gold that was the Egyptian wilderness. Behind her the white stark shapes of tents huddled about the great cavity in the ground that was the Hamunaptra dig. Beyond it were far more ornate tents, trimmed with bold tassels and surrounded by horses in similar fair. These were the dwellings of the Medjai that guarded Evelyn's dig, of which Ardeth was a member of.

Digging her fingers in the sand she rested on, she leant back, tilting her head at the panorama in a leisurely way. The little boy that sat in the sand next to her was playing with the sand, dragging it into piles and then pushing it flat again. He drew hieroglyphs in the sand, and then he would tell her what they meant. She smiled at him, the struggle of life and death they had shared taking away any discomfort she once had around the boy.

Alex frowned in thought and he looked to her. "Connie, are you staying now? I mean for good?"

Constance's smile turned to a grin. "Yes, yes I am, Alex."

He smiled, very pleased to hear this, and nodded with satisfaction. "That's good."

"For a very long time, I should hope."

"Really?" Alex lifted a brow at her.

She nodded most seriously, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Does Ardeth know how long you want to stay?"

Connie shook her head. "No, but I think it'll make a nice surprise for him, don't you?"

With a great hoot of laughter, Alex fell back onto the sand, kicking his legs in the air in pure joy. "Oh brother!"


End file.
